The Hylian Wars
by ClarkIsaac
Summary: Ten years before a boy named Link became the Hero of Time, Hyrule was thrust into civil war, where heroes, both new and familiar, fought to defend the ultimate power.
1. Prologue

THE HYLIAN WARS

Clark Andersen

PROLOGUE:

The land of Hyrule was a blessed land, indeed. Its green forests, deep lakes, cool rivers, and fields of grain showed great prosperity. It was ruled by a just king who sought the success and happiness of his citizens. He had a queen, who was fair and loyal to her husband and people. Their daughter, the Princess of Hyrule, was noble and just, even if she was a little tomboyish at times. Hyrule Castle lay at the north end of the country, on a hill overlooking the second-largest city in Hyrule, Hyrule Castle Town. The town had a large population, prosperous market, and low crime rate. The human inhabitants of Hyrule (who were called Hylians) had no reason to complain.

Just to the east of Hyrule Castle Town sat the stronghold of Kakariko. Kakariko Stronghold was the largest city in the nation. As an impenetrable fortress, Kakariko was designed to defend Hyrule whenever attacked. Ancient stone walls and towers stood in Kakariko, and if one were to climb a tower, they could look down not only on Kakariko or Hyrule Castle Town, but if they were to look hard enough, they could see Lake Hylia's shimmering surface in the distance. In the heart of the city stood the Kakariko Windmill, the tallest building in Hyrule. One could sit and stare at the windmill for hours, thinking, as its giant blades spun, about anything they wished.

Kakariko was the ancestral home to a race of people apart from the Hylians, the Sheikah. The Hylians and Sheikahs had no arguments, and their alliance had existed since Hyrule was created, twelve generations ago. The Sheikahs, although they looked similar to the Hylians, were extremely different. The Sheikahs were an elegant race, with tall, slender figures contrasting to the short, stubby Hylians. Sheikahs' hair color was usually gold or silver-colored, which shimmered in the sun and their eyes usually a stunning red or purple.

The biggest difference between the Hylians and Sheikahs, however, was the Sheikahs ability to use the Eye of Truth. This natural ability that the Sheikahs had allowed them to peer into the soul of anyone they wished, allowing the Sheikah to read the thoughts and minds of the unlucky victim. The Eye of Truth was useful for anyone from Sheikah judges hoping to convict a criminal, to teenage Sheikah boys who wanted to know if a particular girl liked them.

Kakariko existed in the Northeastern Mountains of Hyrule, brown hills abound with trees, sagebrush, and Zelda flowers. The mountains took on a different hue when the sun set in the west; they seemed to glow orange. The largest mountain in the range, Death Mountain, stood proudly above Kakariko Stronghold and Hyrule Castle Town, engulfing both cities in its shadow as the day begun. The caves of Death Mountain were home to another race of beings in Hyrule: the rock-dwelling Goron tribe.

The Gorons were quite different from the Hylians and Sheikahs, they were the most naturally muscular beings in Hyrule, but they were the most peaceful. They were content sitting in their caves all day eating the rocks that they dug by hand. Gorons were almost rocks themselves; their skin was stone-tough, and they didn't have too much intelligence in their solid heads. Gorons tried to avoid the struggles of the Hylians and Sheikahs, and they preferred laziness to preparedness.

The longest river in Hyrule, Zora's River, started in the Northeast Mountains, ran through western Hyrule past the Gerudo Desert and spilled into Lake Hylia in South Hyrule. The source of the river was home to another race of beings in Hyrule: the Zora race. Everything the Goron race was, the Zora race wasn't. Tall and elegant, with silver skin and long fins, the Zoras were an aquatic race. Half-fish and half-human, the Zoras could live underwater for long periods of time and could swim much faster than run. The Zoras had gills on their heads and necks, and they had dark, beady eyes with no whites. They were guardians of the river source, much as the Gorons were guardians of the mountains.

Yes, peace was evident in all of Hyrule, from Hyrule Castle Town in the North to Lake Hylia in the South. Yet, as all these races were able to coexist, none of them were united with each other and only they got along as long as they stayed away from one another. This was not how things were supposed to be. It all began twelve generations ago….

Hyrule was created by the Three Golden Goddesses. With their divine abilities and strengths, they were able to pool their talents and create the world.

Din, the first Goddess, was the most brash and outspoken. With her powerful arms, she created the rough mountain ranges from raw matter, and breathed life into the races of the Gorons and Sheikahs.

Farore, the second Goddess, enjoyed learning new things. With her powerful mind and calm nature, she created the Dark Forest in the east of Hyrule and she breathed life to the Hylian race.

Nayru was the final Goddess. She was the most loving and kind, and with her abilities, she created the water and Lake Hylia, and she gave life to the Zora race.

Each of these Goddesses was proud of their work. The very last thing they created was the Sacred Realm, another world outside Hyrule. In the Sacred Realm they placed the Temple of Light, where each Goddess was hoping to spend the rest of eternity in slumber. Right before they were about to sleep, each goddess placed all of her power inside a single, small gold triangle, called a Triforce. Din, with her forceful nature, created the Triforce of Power. Farore, with her unceasing attitude, created the Triforce of Courage. And Nayru, with her infinite knowledge created the Triforce of Wisdom. These three triangles, each containing the goddesses' power, rested in the Temple of Light. With their powers gone, the three goddesses, now mortal, began their eternal sleep, leaving a hidden passageway into the Sacred Realm and the Temple of Light, where the Triforce, the Goddesses' very powers, lay.

Where was the gateway to the Sacred Realm? The answer fell asleep with the Goddesses. Legend was passed down from generation to generation in Hyrule that whosoever merely touches the power of the Triforce will have all the Goddesses' abilities for their own. As time moved on in Hyrule, the Goddesses' story became legend, and legend became myth, for twelve generations…


	2. Hylian Civil War

**Chapter One**

Hylian Civil War

The Hylian weather was bitter and cold on the particular autumn morning that Daphnes Nohansen woke from his tent an hour early with the intent to go for a morning jog before the day began. Hyrule Field seemed to glow a deep blue as the first light of dawn crept over the Eastern Forest onto the horizon. The cool light-green grass of Hyrule Field blew with the pre-dawn breeze. The few tall, proud trees swayed as well. The only light came from the scores of stars in the sky, the few rays of light, and the dying embers of the campfire Daphnes and his company burned the night before.

Daphnes began his jog. His joints were sore, after a week of marching. His long, graying-black hair bobbed on his shoulders as he ran, and his muscular arms pumped to his side. His chest, broad and barrel-shaped, pumped up and his nose, which was long and crooked from being broken in a fistfight in his teens, was turning red from the cold.

After a half mile, he stopped to stretch and catch his breath. "I'm getting too old for this," he said to himself as he tried, unsuccessfully, to reach his long fingers to his toes. He pulled his hair out of his eyes and tried again, this time getting closer, but still several inches away.

He gave up on the stretching. It only reminded him that, now at forty-five, he was an old man. He had lost the confident spunk he had had as a teenager. He remembered the time, long ago when he was eighteen, which he was at the peak of his strength and stamina.

"Stretch down now," Daphnes's trainer, Kaepora Gaebora, had instructed. Daphnes then bent down and flattened his palms against the ground. Kaepora had praised him. "Very good, Daphnes. Your father will be impressed with your progress.

"Now," the old mage had coached, "feel your muscles grow with your improvement. Each time you bend over, do a push-up, and lift a rock, or run, your muscles store strength for when you most need it. That time will soon come, boy."

Daphnes stopped daydreaming and continued his jog. He had scoffed at Kaepora's lecture on storing energy. He thought he would never use that information. He wished he had paid more attention to Kaepora as a teenager. He sure felt like he could use his advice now.

Daphnes jogged down past a few farms and up a few hills south to the surface of Lake Hylia and stopped to rest again. The lake's cool water was exactly the thing he needed to relax and he splashed some on his face. The lake water ran down his four-day-old gray and black stubble on his chin, washing the sweat away.

"Forty-five," he said to no one in particular as he looked to the edge of the lake and the cliffs that erupted from the shore. "I'm too old to lead this attack."

Daphnes contemplated running to the islands on the lake. They were attached to the shore with a series of bridges that had been constructed by the Zora tribe, who used the lake regularly for their fishing industry. Daphnes turned down the idea, partly because he needed to get back to camp before his commanders woke, and partly because he was already exhausted from what he had run so far.

The run back to camp was more exhausting the run to the lake. When Daphnes Nohansen finally returned to the gathering of small, brown tents placed in no particular pattern, he noticed one of his captains already sitting on a log around the smoky embers of what was once a large bonfire.

"Good morning, Marina," Daphnes said as he slowed to a walk.

Captain Marina, a young, beautiful-but-strong young woman of twenty-one, turned to Daphnes and smiled. "Did you go for a run? I was wondering why I wasn't hearing any snoring."

"I don't snore…do I?" Daphnes asked seriously.

"I could hear you from my tent," Marina answered.

Daphnes took a seat next to the girl. He decided that it was time for a change of subject.

"Is Captain Isaac up yet?" He asked.

Marina pulled her blonde hair out of her baby-blue eyes. "I don't think so. He had the roughest day yesterday out of anyone. He barely made it out of the Gerudo territory alive."

"I'm awake now," came a voice from a tent. Isaac, a strong soldier and Daphnes's second-in-command, walked out, in full armor, to Daphnes and Marina at the fire. Isaac's gray, no-nonsense expression reflected the first rays of morning effectively.

"Those bloody warrior women captured three of my finest men last night." Isaac's expression as he told this news was solemn. A tear flowed down his cheek. "I…I'm so sorry, sir, it was as if the Gerudo were expecting us…"

Isaac let his hands fall into his gauntlets. His eyes were red when he pulled his face back up. "I'm sorry, sir," he said sadly, "this is a war I think the Gerudo are winning."

"I don't get it…we and the Sheikah outnumber them three to one! Where are they getting their extra support!" Daphnes said as he kicked the dying coals with his foot out of frustration. "It's not possible!"

The remaining tents began to stir, as the rest of the troops heard the conversation outside and began to awaken.

"We need more support! Are the Sheikah sure they can't send more warriors?" Isaac asked Daphnes. Daphnes sighed and stood up. His eyes glanced all around Hyrule Field, as if there was something in his immediate vision that could help them during this desperate cause.

"I will send one more letter to the Mayor of Kakariko. Perhaps he can send more warriors," Daphnes replied, although he was sure the Sheikah couldn't produce another soldier. "In the meantime," Daphnes paused, picking his words carefully. He knew Marina and Isaac were very reasonable, intelligent people and he didn't want his next plan of action to sound crazy to them. He took a deep breath and continued. "I want to rescue the captive soldiers."

Daphnes was accurate in his assumption. Both Isaac and Marina stood up and began shouting protests at him.

"You can't be serious!"

"You'll be killed!"

"Think of what would happen!"

"If they catch you, it's over!"

Daphnes held up his hands to silence them. "Listen, both of you! Just listen!" Both Marina and Isaac stopped arguing to listen to what their superior had to say.

"I don't know why I want to do this! I think it's just as crazy as you do! It's just…I mean…" Daphnes rubbed his wrinkled forehead, thinking of the right words, "It's like it's an order from the Goddesses."

Daphnes caught a glimpse of Marina roll her eyes.

"Isaac, get your strongest and stealthiest men together. We'll head out immediately.

"As for Marina, you can take some men back to Kakariko Stronghold and see what the Sheikah have planned for their attacks. With any luck, they already have a nice sized division ready for battle."

Isaac still was insecure about the sudden attack. "I don't want to lose any more men."

"It's a small Gerudo band. We shouldn't have too many problems. I don't want those three men to die. Do you understand?"

Isaac looked at Daphnes with sincere respect, but with a hint of concern. Isaac's stern face and deep features pierced into Daphnes's, and the mighty Captain Isaac felt comforted. "Very well. I'll awaken the men." Isaac left to awaken the soldiers.

Marina had walked to the edge of the camp. She looked towards Kakariko Stronghold, shielding her eyes from the rising sun that came up over Death Mountain. Daphnes walked over to her and put his hand on her soldier.

"I'm going to be fine. I know you don't believe in the legend of the Goddesses, but you've got to know I'm doing my duty," he said, trying to comfort the captain.

Marina spun and looked up at him in the eye. "Your duty? Your duty is not to run blindly into enemy territory just because you feel prompted by imaginary spirits!"

Daphnes smiled. "You act just like your mother. As fiery as a Dodongo. Do you notice that?"

"Don't…I'm too old for that," Marina said, dismissing Daphnes.

Daphnes smiled again. "Ah, I guess you're right. Well, I'd better be getting ready for my attack. You need to be getting ready for your travel to Kakariko." Daphnes turned and walked away.

After he was out of earshot, Marina turned and looked at Daphnes. "Don't get yourself killed, you fool," she said as tears welled in her eyes. "I can't live without you…daddy." With that, she went to prepare for her journey.

It was another few hours before Daphnes Nohansen's company of soldiers was ready to leave. Marina had gotten into her armor and began to gather her arrows to begin the march to Kakariko.

"We'll reach the Gerudo encampment by early afternoon, hopefully," Isaac told Daphnes, who was tying his sword sheath around his waist. "There, I suppose we will try to catch the Gerudo by surprise and free the hostages. I must be honest, sir, it's a very desperate plan."

"That's why the Gerudo won't be expecting it," Daphnes said, as he tied the final knot in the sheath.

Daphnes applied the rest of his armor as he thought of the current situation: the nation of Hyrule was at civil war. The race of Gerudo, who came from the very most western part of the nation, Gerudo Valley Desert, had declared war and began to attack Hylian farms and settlements in western Hyrule. The attack was a major surprise to Hyrule; the Hylians had always considered Gerudo Valley a part of Hyrule, but the Hylians never really associated with the Gerudo. The Gerudo mostly kept to themselves, building their desert society and training their warriors.

The Gerudo were also blessed with a military genius as a ruler. Ganondorf, the ruler of the Gerudo and leader of its military was the most strategic man Daphnes had ever met. He was tall, confident, and had striking features embedded deep in his dark tan Gerudo skin. His red hair flowed onto his shoulders, and his bulging muscles escaped from his black armor, making him carry all the strength he had gathered in his twenty-six years. Ganondorf had no problems gaining respect from the Gerudo warrior women; he was the only man among the entire race. The Gerudo only produced one male in a hundred years, and that man would, according to prophecy, be the ruler of the Gerudo race.

Despite the confusion that astounded the war, Daphnes Nohansen had to give Ganondorf credit; he had taken a bunch of thieves from the desert and had turned them into strong warriors. All the tan-skinned, red-haired Gerudo women had become an extreme threat to the Hylians and Sheikah in the past month. Ganondorf, operating out of the gargantuan Gerudo Fortress, was playing Daphnes's troops exactly how he wanted to.

However; the war and Ganondorf's success wasn't the only thing on Daphnes's mind.

Daphnes's wife was expecting his second child.

He was thrilled about this, but it added an extra level of stress to his life. He had to juggle both a war _and _a pregnant wife. The last thing he wanted was to be away while the baby was born. He felt he needed to be with his wife during her time of need, but he also had a duty to lead the Hylian forces to victory.

After all, it was his kingdom.

Yes, Daphnes Nohansen was the King of Hyrule.

"Are you ready, King Nohansen?" Isaac asked on that autumn morning before the rescue attempt against the Gerudo.

"Yes, just let me say goodbye to my daughter," Daphnes responded.

Marina and her troops were just getting ready to depart. Daphnes approached his daughter and smiled a weak smile. Marina laughed.

"You look like you haven't had any sleep in weeks," she joked.

"You try fighting a war, ruling a kingdom, and preparing for a new baby all at once," Daphnes responded. "Can you see why I'm so stressed?"

Marina gave her father a hug. She had to stand on her toes to make up for the height difference. "Mom needs you. Go back to her. She's giving birth any day now."

"I want to be with her, but I need to be out here with the troops."

Marina sighed. "Very well. I still think you're making a mistake with this raid."

"I know. You just need to trust my judgment, like Captain Isaac."

"I'll try," Marina paused. "Well, I need to be leaving now. The Sheikahs are expecting us by sunset. Good luck, daddy."

Daphnes gave his daughter one final hug. "Be brave, Marina, and good luck."

"You too. Don't do anything else that's so stupid."

Marina turned and ordered her troops to start marching.

"I'll see you soon, dad. I love you."

Amid waves from her father, Marina turned and marched northeast, in the direction of the rising sun.

"She'll be fine," Isaac told Daphnes when the king returned to his own group of men, who were getting impatient waiting for orders. "She's a very strong girl."

"I know, but I just don't feel she's ready to lead her own group of men into battle," Daphnes responded.

"That's King Nohansen the father talking. What would King Nohansen the military leader say?" Isaac asked with a small smile.

"I…I suppose you're right. We should get going," Daphnes responded, changing the subject.

Fortunately for the Hylian troops, the weather warmed up considerably. The temperate area of Hyrule was used to getting heavy rainfall during this time of year, but the South Western area of the country, where the troops were marching, stayed dry. The serene atmosphere was disturbed as sixty soldiers, in full armor, walked through the tall Hyrule Field grass, crunching the leaves and dead plants as they marched past. Throughout the march, Captain Isaac tried to explain to King Daphnes Nohansen the layout of the Gerudo camp, to make a surprise attack more effective. But the King was not listening. He had his mind elsewhere. He thought of how his wife was possibly enduring the last stages of her pregnancy without him. The king remembered when his wife was pregnant with Marina, and how he was glad he was able to assist his wife with that trial. Daphnes couldn't think of what would happen if he were not to return to her in time.

And he was here, fighting a war that even he, the king of one of the nations, didn't know what was about. He had been forced to lie to his own people the past few weeks, saying that he was in complete control over the situation, when in reality he was unsure to what was going on.

He knew that most of his own people, and almost all of the Sheikahs, didn't trust him. His father, King Harkinius Nohansen, was one of the most revolutionary leaders in Hylian history. It was his father who formed and led the alliance of Hylian-Sheikah all the way to his death, when Daphnes became king. It was a tough act to follow, and although Daphnes loved and respected his father, he was somewhat jealous to how easy it seemed for him to lead the nation.

The march was nearing an end, according to Captain Isaac. Daphnes could see small streams of smoke rising into the air, the telltale sign of a campfire. The hilly terrain of this area of Hyrule Field made it difficult to find a nice vantage point to plan an attack. The Hylian crew would have to charge blindly into the camp, a thought that upset King Nohansen.

"I want to see what they look like before we attack," Daphnes said to Isaac.

"Of course," the captain responded.

Daphnes ordered his men to stop marching and wait while he and Isaac investigate the area.

The two soldiers climbed the hill overlooking the camp. It was a small valley of Hyrule Field, with a few tall trees sprouting up from the bank of a small river that provided the Gerudo camp with water. A few brownish colored tents sprouted up from the ground, and there were a few fireplaces from the night before that were just dying out. It seemed like it was a campsite for a few boys and not a campsite for the Gerudo army.

"There were more last night," Isaac said, as if reading Daphnes's mind. "Some of them must have left by now."

"That makes things easier. Okay, tell the troops it's time to go. I need to figure out what this is all about."

Isaac turned and signaled to his men to advance up the hill. As they began to see that the small size of the Gerudo camp, the troops' spirits began to lighten. Daphnes signaled to the trumpeter to signal the Hylians' arrival.

The trumpet note echoed through the valley, and a few Gerudo knights exited their tents to examine the source of the sound. From atop the hill, Daphnes could see the small brown figures warn each other of the attack.

"We're catching them completely off guard," Isaac said. "It's working, sir."

Daphnes turned to face his troops. "Move in, but don't attack. I want to speak to their leader first. I'm going to try to finally figure out what Ganondorf is trying to accomplish here," he explained. "If I give the signal to attack, be merciless. I know, they're women, but don't underestimate them. If you get caught off guard, you're dead."

The Gerudo were already waiting for the Hylians in full armor with their weapons—Gerudos style swords that were curved—drawn. As they Hylians descended the hill to the camp, Daphnes said a silent prayer to the Goddesses. "Please," he pleaded silently in his mind. "Please protect me. Not for my own sake, but for my wife, daughter, and nation."

"What do you want, Hylian dogs?" the tallest Gerudo knight asked after all the Hylian troops had descended the mountain. It was an interesting sight: the Hylians, all men in shiny steel armor from helm to boot, stood on one side while the Gerudo, all women in Dodongo leather armor that left their arms, legs and heads exposed, stood on the other side. The two sides looked so different that it was almost impossible _not_ to distinguish the ally from enemy.

Daphnes removed his helmet. "I am Daphnes Nohansen, King of Hyrule, and I demand to speak to your leader." Daphnes turned to the tall Gerudo who greeted the Hylians. "That is you, I assume?"

The tall Gerudo spit on the dirt next to Daphnes's feet. The King of Hyrule shuddered; spitting was his biggest pet peeve. "I am. What do you want?" the Gerudo leader asked.

"I demand, as respectable leader of the Hylians, that you tell me what your motives are for declaring war on us!" Daphnes demanded in his loudest voice.

There was a moment of silence. All that could have been heard was the sound of the nearby stream as it ran its course towards Gerudo Valley. Then, as if a bolt from the blue, the Gerudo leader let out a sharp "Ha!" The other Gerudo began to laugh too, and soon the sound of the stream was killed by the sound of Gerudo laughter.

Captain Isaac was getting impatient. "Tell us right now, you desert whore!" he shouted as he removed his helmet and drew his sword from its sheath. He charged at the Gerudo. Daphnes reached out to stop his second-in-command, but he was too late. One split-second before Isaac's sword would have impaled the Gerudo, the Gerudo slashed out at Isaac with her hand open. Daphnes winced as he saw her fingernails dig into Isaac's face, knocking him over. Isaac, instantly grabbed the left side of his face, where three long, scratches were starting to bleed.

By instinct, all the Hylian troops drew their weapons. They could tell that battle was imminent. The Gerudo who attacked Isaac held up her right hand, where a few drops of Isaac's blood stuck to her fingernails. One finger at a time, she licked the blood off of them, scoring a laugh from the remaining Gerudo in the camp.

Daphnes helped Isaac to his feet. The Hylian captain continued to hold his face, even though it caused him great pain. When he removed his hand, Daphnes could see how serious the wound was. The scratch marks ran all the way from Isaac's earlobe to his lip, and blood flowed freely out of them. Daphnes turned back to the Gerudo.

"If you refuse to cooperate, then I have no choice but to attack, and, I'm sorry to say, we outnumber you almost three to one," Daphnes was about to raise his sword in the air to signal an attack, but he was interrupted by a loud, deep, male voice from behind one of the Gerudo tents.

Daphnes's confidence in victory faded almost instantly. He knew that laugh. The remainder of his troops knew it too. He could feel his men talking and shaking. Isaac looked both shocked by the voice and in pain from his cuts.

Ganondorf appeared from behind the tent and slowly walked up to Daphnes. He was easily the tallest Gerudo there, and the most prepared. His curved Gerudo sword hung at his side, and every inch of his body, neck down, was covered in thick leather armor. His fire-red hair fell on his armored shoulders, and his biceps bulged out from under his armor. His gauntlets and boots were made with a type of stone scale, and he wore a type of shoulder armor made of the same stone as the gauntlets. His yellow eyes, which were normal among Gerudo, shone brightly from atop a long, sharp nose. His dark skin almost seemed like leather armor itself, making Ganondorf seem even more intimidating.

"The King of Hyrule himself decides to ride at the front of the Hylian army," Ganondorf said slowly in his guttural, deep, voice. "Quite a foolish move. If you learn anything from me, you should learn that you shouldn't let your enemy know that you're among your warriors. It makes you vulnerable."

The Hylian forces all gasped. Some gasped out of surprise to see Ganondorf appear in a small and seemingly pointless Gerudo settlement, others gasped out of fear for what the military genius would do to their ruler.

"Ganondorf," Daphnes said as calm as he could, although he was petrified. "I need to know the meaning of this war. If you don't tell me, we will have to capture you by force."

Ganondorf laughed his loud, deep laugh again. "King Nohansen," he said innocently as he inched closer and closer to Daphnes. "You can't possible hope to defeat us. You know that feeling of cold sweat you get when you wake up from a nightmare? The demon that bleeds that cold sweat is working for us. You know that feeling in your stomach you get whenever you're frightened? The very ghoul that breathes that feeling is fighting with us. You can't hope to defeat us, King Nohansen. We have fright on our side. You are hopelessly outnumbered."

The Gerudo women all let out a yell of enthusiasm after Ganondorf finished his speech. Daphnes realized that Ganondorf just enjoyed feeding their bloodlust, getting them ready for battle.

"You may have intimidation on your side, but we have the Goddesses on ours!" Daphnes shot back. This got a yell of support from all the Hylians.

Ganondorf's expression changed from a proud leader to an annoyed and frustrated one after Daphnes shot back his speech. "We'll see before too long whose side the Goddesses are on, Nohansen! It may surprise you!" The Gerudo leader spat. "But for now, I have somewhere to be, so if you'll excuse me, I must be leaving."

Ganondorf reached a gauntlet into a pouch on his belt and pulled out a small, grape-sized sphere.

"Until we meet again, King Nohansen," Ganondorf said finally. He threw the sphere on the ground. When it hit the cold dirt, it exploded in a blinding flash of light. All the Hylians were forced to shield their eyes so they wouldn't be blinded. After a few seconds, the Hylian soldiers opened their eyes to find not only Ganondorf and his band of women gone, but also all proof that the Gerudos had camped there. All the tents were gone. All the surrounding environment remained: the tall trees, the small stream, the hilly terrain, but all that remained of the Gerudo camp were the black ashes of the campfire the Gerudos had burned the previous night.

"Sir! Look!" Isaac shouted out, and pointed to a point where one of the Gerudo tents had once stood. Three men, bound and gagged, were squirming on the ground. Isaac ran up to them and examined them. He removed the gags on each and smiled back at the king. "It's the men they captured! They're all here, all three of them!"

Daphnes was overjoyed at this, but he didn't show it. His mind was on other things. The rest of the troops began to relax and remove their armor. They seemed relieved that the rescue was somewhat successful, and some of them went to untie their fellow soldiers. Daphnes noticed something on the ground where Ganondorf had stood. It was a small black ball, broken in half. Daphnes recognized it as the ball Ganondorf had thrown on the ground to create the flash for the Gerudo to escape.

"I've never seen anything like this before…" Daphnes said to himself. "There's no way the Gerudo could have created such technology. But where did they get this?" He turned the small pieces around in his hand, and then called out to Isaac, who was busy untying the three captives. "Isaac! Come! I need you!"

Isaac heard the King and ran over to him. "What is it, my liege?" he asked.

"Have you ever seen one of these before?" the king asked, holding out the broken device.

"No…wait, yes, I think I have! I will look through my spoils and see if I find a match."

"It wasn't the Gerudo, was it?"

"No, this is the first time I've fought the Gerudo."

"Okay."

Isaac gave back the device, and Daphnes put it in a pouch on the side of his belt. Isaac left and began to call the troops back to order for their march back to their camp.

"Something tells me we have more to fight than just the Gerudo…" he said to himself as he looked at the noon sky. "I'm still too old for this."

Daphnes Nohansen, King of Hyrule, turned and climbed up the top of the hill that looked over the valley. He turned left and right and gazed at the land he ruled. Tomorrow he would have to plan his next move, even though he had no leads to what he should do. "I'll trust the Goddesses," he said to himself again. "That's all I can do."


	3. Reunion

**Chapter Two**

Reunion

_Marina Nohansen, Princess of Hyrule and a Captain of the Hylian army, was standing alone on a tower in Kakariko Stronghold. She wasn't wearing any armor, and her bow was nowhere to be found. She started breathing heavily and turning around, as if she were looking for something. Her breath was visible in the autumn air. Slowly but suddenly, the azure Hylian sky turned darker and darker, until it was black as cobalt. _

_Suddenly, a familiar laugh was heard. The deep sound of Ganondorf's maniacal laugh filled the air around the stronghold. Marina looked scared. She searched the surrounding area, for where Ganondorf was, but to no avail. She started to run, but the fortress seemed to go on forever, and she only wound up back where she started. She stopped and fell on her knees, clinging for all the breath she could get. Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, Ganondorf was standing above her. The Gerudo leader smiled a sick smile and pulled out his curved Gerudo sword. With one fluid motion, he thrust the blade into Marina's back. The princess screamed as the Gerudo laughed. Marina's dead body fell to the stone floor of the stronghold. Ganondorf continued to laugh and laugh and laugh…_

"No!" Daphnes Nohansen screamed as he awoke from his nightmare. He was so startled that he fell out of his cot and hit the cold night grass beneath it. He caught himself and got to his feet. He wasn't wearing shoes, and the cold grass tickled his feet as he walked to the flap of his tent and looked outside.

"It was only a dream," he said to himself. "A terrible, terrible dream…"

The silver moon shone high over Hyrule Field. The Hylians' camp, the same one that they had been using for the past few days, overlooked the stunning Lake Hylia. The moon shone on the shimmering surface, giving the lake a mysterious aura. The King of Hyrule returned to his tent and put on his boots, with the intent of going for a short midnight walk. He briefly reconsidered; his Captain, Isaac, wouldn't have approved. If he were to be captured, the war would be over and the Gerudo would have succeeded in gaining whatever they were trying to gain. But the King didn't much care. He needed to clear his mind of all the stress.

The King's breath swirled around his head as he walked out of the tent. It was colder than he expected, nevertheless he carried on with his walk. He continued down the hill towards the shore of the lake.

He stood at the shore and looked out towards the small islands. The moon shone high above, filling Daphnes's mind with memories…

_Daphnes Nohansen, heir to the throne of Hyrule, held his girlfriend, Kaileia, as they watched the stars come out above the surface of Lake Hylia. Daphnes, at the young age of twenty-one, looked into the eyes of his eighteen-year-old sweetheart._

_"Kaileia?" he asked. _

_"Yes?" she responded as he looked into his own eyes, her blonde hair falling down, obstructing her face._

_"I love you," he responded, "and I want to marry you. You are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me." Tears welled up in Daphnes's eyes. "Will you marry me?"_

_Tears also formed in Kaileia's eyes. "Yes! Yes I want to marry you!" She threw her arms around Daphnes's neck. "I love you too," she whispered, "but what about your father?"_

_It was the question that Daphnes didn't want to hear. King Harkinius and Prince Daphnes didn't have too much in common and they didn't much get along. Harkinius wanted his only child to marry a young Sheikah he had picked out, in order to win more support for an alliance he was planning on forming, and he didn't like seeing his son hang out with a farm girl from Hyrule Field. Daphnes had gotten in a very heated argument with his father the day before he was planning on proposing to Kaileia. As the young prince lay on his bed to try to relax and drown all feelings of annoyance with his father, he heard a small knock on the door to his bedroom._

_"Can I come in, boy? I promise I won't try to make you do anything you don't want to do, or marry anything you don't want to marry."_

_Daphnes smiled and recognized the voice. "Sure, Kaepora. It's open," he called out._

_The door opened, and the figure of Kaepora Gaebora walked into the room. The old mage had a striking posture. As a former Priest of the Temple of Time, Kaepora had been a lifelong friend of King Harkinius, and often supported his decisions. The brown-haired mage was as wise as an owl and as strong as a moblin. Wrinkles attached to his kind face and a sparkling glow emanated from his noble eyes. Ever since Daphnes was a boy, Kaepora had instructed him on the ways of the warrior and the Goddesses. Kaepora Gaebora was one of Daphnes Nohansen's greatest friends._

_"Your father has your best interest in mind, boy," Kaepora instructed, putting a strong hand on Daphnes's shoulder, "he just may be a bit confused to what your best interest is."_

_"I love Kaileia. I _know _she's just a farm girl, but I don't care! I love her, and I want her to be my queen," Daphnes responded._

_"That's all that matters. Don't forget that. As long as you love and trust her, nothing else matters. I'm proud of you, boy. You're one of my best pupils." _

_Kaepora turned to leave but quickly turned back. "Oh!" he said suddenly, "I almost forgot! I picked these flowers in the courtyard this morning. I thought you might like them. They're Zelda flowers, the traditional Hylian Engagement Blossom, but I'm sure you know all about that. Well, I hope you use them properly. Have a good day, boy."_

_Daphnes took the two flowers and thanked Kaepora. The flowers, which had soft stems, silky leaves and pink-blue petals, seemed to glow in the afternoon sun that spilled in from the windows. Daphnes found a vase of water and placed the flowers inside, allowing them to soak. _

_"Tomorrow," he said to himself. "Tomorrow night, we'll go to the lake, and I'll ask her to marry me."_

_Daphnes didn't tell his father about the flowers, or Kaepora's involvement. He didn't want Harkinius to get mad at Kaepora. The next evening, he treated Kaileia to a peaceful carriage ride to the lake, and they ate dinner on an island and watched the stars emerge from the heavens. One bright star in particular caught Daphnes's eye._

_"See that bright one?" he asked Kaileia. _

_"That one? Yeah," she responded. _

_"Do you know what that is?" he asked with a smile._

_"It's just a star, right?" she asked, looking up at him. _

_Daphnes removed a lock of his black hair from his face. "That's the Goddess Nayru looking down at us and smiling. She's sitting in the Sacred Realm and watching. 'Din, Farore, come and watch this. Daphnes is about to propose to Kaileia!' she's probably saying."_

_Kaileia looked shocked. Daphnes continued. "Kaileia?" _

_"Yes?"_

_"I love you," he responded, "and I want to marry you. You are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me." Tears welled up in Daphnes's eyes. "Will you marry me?"_

_The young prince held one of the Zelda flowers and pressed it into his girlfriend's hands. He took out the other one and held it himself. He had a hard time containing his excitement. _

_Daphnes and Kaileia, amidst tears, participated in the sacred engagement ritual. Together, they wove the two stems together and made a marriage oath that they knew would not fail._

Daphnes Nohansen was in full tears now, as he remembered the night, twenty-four years ago, that he and his wife made their promises together. He could almost remember that evening entirely: he remembered the cool, moist, lake breeze, the sweet smell of both the Zelda flowers and Kaileia's hair, and the power of the emotions that flew during that moment.

The same full moon shone down, and Daphnes could see the tree the young couple had sat below while watching the stars return to earth. As he remembered the love he had for his wife, Daphnes Nohansen scolded himself for his bad choice.

"Kaileia, I love you. I need to be with you," he said to himself. "I promised that night that I would take you as my wife, and I would agree to be your husband. I need to be with you. Isaac can lead the troops and…"

The King droned off. He knew it was futile. He needed to lead the troops in the war. He needed to prove to his nation he was as powerful and effective as his father, Harkinius.

The moon and stars were still out when Daphnes returned to his camp and tent. He was apprehensive about returning to sleep, in case he encountered the dream again. He lay awake in his cot until the first few rays of dawn crept in the bottom of his tent. After he heard a few of his men stir in the next tent, Daphnes decided it was time to officially awaken for the day.

As usual, Captain Isaac was the first awake. He had developed three long scars over his austere face, the result of an attack by a Gerudo guard the day before. The scars seemed to have hardly fazed the stern captain; he seemed as ready for battle as ever.

"Good morning, sir. Did you sleep well?" Isaac asked.

"Sure, something like that," Daphnes responded.

"Good to hear it. After you get something to eat, I would like to review the plans for today with you," Isaac said. All business as usual.

"Of course, Captain," Daphnes said, and left to get prepared for the day. Food was the last thing on his mind.

The Hylian King turned to return to his tent when he was startled by a familiar, yet distant, voice behind him.

"So, the son of Harkinius has gotten himself into trouble. Civil war, boy? That's so unlike you!"

Daphnes smiled as he recognized the voice. He turned around to face his old friend.

"Kaepora! Kaepora Gaebora! Is that really you!" he shouted.

The old mage was looking pretty good for an old man. His brown mane had turned snow-white, and he had grown a small beard on his wrinkly chin. His brown robes fell to his feet, and he was forced to use a staff to assist him with walking. His eyes still maintained their sparkle, but he still was the same tall, strong, wise mage that had been Daphnes's close friend for his teenage years.

"Daphnes, my boy! How are you?" The mage said, pulling Daphnes in a firm bear hug.

"I have so many questions for you!" The King said honestly. "I haven't seen you since my wedding! It's been twenty-five years! Where have you been?"

"Traveling mostly," the mage responded. "Termina, Holodrum, Labyrrnia, places like that."

"My daughter needs to meet you! She needs to meet the man who taught me everything I know!" Daphnes said, having a hard time maintaining his enthusiasm over meeting his old friend.

"You have a daughter?" The mage said, happy for his friend.

"Yes, Marina! She's about twenty right now! She's a captain in the military. She should be in Kakariko right now!"

"I'm happy for you, boy! Congratulations!" Kaepora put an old, shaky hand on Daphnes's shoulder.

"Kaileia's also about to have another baby," Daphnes said. "Any day now."

"Congratulations on that too!" Kaepora said.

Isaac had viewed the whole reunion with smiles, but he was growing impatient at the lack of action for the war. "King Nohansen, sir?" he said. Daphnes and Kaepora looked at the young captain. "We need to prepare for battle."

"I will help you in any way I can. I may be old, but I still have some spunk," Kaepora said. "What's the situation?"

Daphnes and Kaepora sat down with Isaac. Daphnes quickly made introductions between Kaepora and Isaac, and then the trio got to business.

"We have some reports from some spies that the Gerudo's next target may be Zora's Domain, but we're not entirely sure," Isaac said.

"Zora's Domain…" Daphnes said, thinking out loud. "What are the Gerudo doing?"

"If the war's between the Hylian-Sheikah Alliance and the Gerudo, why would they attack the Zoras?" Kaepora asked.

"That's the question _I _want answered," Isaac said. "It's as if…no, never mind."

"What? What's on your mind?" Daphnes asked, desperate for any answers.

Isaac continued, choosing his words carefully. "It's as if the Gerudo and Ganondorf are…looking for something."

"That's interesting," Kaepora said.

"What would they be looking for?" Daphnes asked.

"If we learn the answer to that question, we may learn why we're at war," Isaac said. "I guess it's only a matter of time."

"No it's not. We need to march to Zora's Domain today. I hope to cut them off and figure out why we're here in the first place," Daphnes said.

"Good move, boy," Kaepora said. "You go to your enemy, not wait for them to come to you."

"Very well. I think most of the men are awake now. I'll alert them of our next maneuver," Isaac said. After a crisp salute, the captain left to awaken the remaining troops.

After Isaac had left earshot, Kaepora smiled and said, "Where did you find this captain?"

"He was top of his class at the Kakariko Academy. Why?" Daphnes asked.

"Nothing, he just seems a little…fervent."

Daphnes laughed. "You don't know the half of it!" he joked.

Zora's River was the widest and longest river in all of Hyrule. It ran all through the nation, past Kakariko Stronghold, Hyrule Castle Town, Gerudo Fortress, and eventually emptied into Lake Hylia. The source of the river was Zora Falls, a waterfall that ran down the Northeastern Mountains into Hyrule Field. The aquatic Zora tribe kept and maintained the quality of the water in the river so it was suitable for breeding fish, the Zora cash crop. Many of the Zora people were fishermen, others harvested underwater plants to make Zora clothing, and more caught the rare Eyeball Frogs that grew in Lake Hylia. When prepared correctly, the frogs' eyeballs could make medicine.

The Zora society was very independent, and the tribe reacted very infrequently with the Hylians. It was for this reason that Daphnes Nohansen was nervous about meeting with the Zoras.

"Be penitent," Isaac explained as the legion marched past the large river. The king could hear the rushing sound of Zora Falls in front of them. "Let the Zoras know how much a threat Ganondorf and his women pose, and how much we rely on them for our success."

Daphnes knew he should have listened to the captain's advice, but he frankly was getting annoyed with Isaac. With Kaepora helping out, Daphnes was confident that he could make correct decisions with his help.

The legion of fifty or so Hylian men stopped to rest for a few minutes while Daphnes, Isaac, and Kaepora talked. The river seemed so calm, despite the bloody situation its country was in, and the cool blue water seemed so clean, despite the fact that people were dying.

As the three were discussing their strategy on the banks of the river, a Hylian soldier approached them.

"King Nohansen? Captain? Sir Mage? A Zora woman wishes to speak to you," he said to them. He motioned to a young Zora girl, who was probably about twenty-five years old. Her blue scales shone in the bright autumn daylight, and her webbed hands hung at the side of her torso. Her almond-shaped black eyes stared at King Nohansen, and he could tell they blinked every few seconds by a semitransparent eyelid. The young Zora was dressed pretty well for a Zora, whose dress usually consisted of practical clothing for fishing and diving. Her dress hung down to her scaly ankles, and she wore a type of headdress that signified royalty.

"Can we help you?" Isaac asked, taking charge as usual.

"My name is Laruto. I am queen and leader of the Zoras. I wish to know why you have come to our lands," the young girl said with more confidence and vigor than Daphnes was expecting.

"I am King Nohansen of the Hylia. We have come to warn the Zora tribe of an impending attack by the Gerudo forces, and to ask you, with sincere respect, to join us in our struggle against the Gerudo rebels," Daphnes said. He hoped he had made himself seem respectable, yet desperate for the Zora assistance. The young Zora, named Laruto, looked at the river. A small, blue-green tear escaped her beady eyes and fell to the dirt.

"What's wrong, lass?" Kaepora Gaebora asked.

"For years, the Zora tribe has held its head high with pride that it has been able to maintain these waters. Our God, Jabu-Jabu, has surely blessed us with prosperity," Laruto said, but then paused. "However, we need more than that in this time of need. We are not warriors. We are fishers. We are peacekeepers. We are musicians. We are not warriors."

Laruto looked into the eyes of Daphnes. "I was alerted of the Gerudo attack by a few of our own who live in Kakariko. I was just preparing an entourage of supporters to travel to Hyrule Castle to ask you for the same thing that you are asking me. We need your help. I, Laruto, thankfully accept your proposal.

Laruto held out her webbed hand. Daphnes was shocked; he didn't think it would have been this easy. Isaac's mouth fell open. The King shook the hand. "Okay," he said. It sounded stupid and he knew it, but he didn't care.

"Please, let us go to Zora's Domain. We will figure out a strategy there." Laruto turned and faced the falls.

"Very well. Let's go," Isaac said. The Captain called out to the troops to follow.

As his men advanced in front of him, King Daphnes stayed behind. He was deep in thought, as he usually was. He watched the sunlight reflect on the surface of the rapid river. It wasn't the same as watching the calm moon shine on Lake Hylia, but nothing was quite like that.

"Well, Dad," he said, as if his father were standing right beside him, "I'm not doing that bad of a job, huh? I guess I learn from the best."

Daphnes Nohansen stopped daydreaming and followed his men towards Zora's Domain.


	4. Death Mountain

Hey everybody. I just wanna thank everyone for reading and the reviews. Keep 'em coming! Thanks a lot! I hope you enjoy this next chapter!

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**Chapter Three**

Death Mountain

Ganondorf, the ruler of the Gerudo race, walked through the camp of his female warriors. The ambiance was cool and calm and a slight autumn breeze pierced the camp. The flaps of the brown leather tents danced in the breeze. The warriors, weary from the day of marching, sat around the campfires and talked, or ate, or played games with each other. None of the women acknowledged Ganondorf as he walked past; they were too tired. The sun was just setting over Gerudo Valley, giving Hyrule field a slight orange glow.

The lone Gerudo male found the tent he was looking for. Ganondorf took a deep breath before he entered the tent; its inhabitant was the only figure Ganondorf knew who made the proud Gerudo man nervous. Nevertheless, Ganondorf entered and faced his ally.

"You wished to speak to me, master?" Ganondorf said while bowing.

"Yes," the deep voice of the undead creature said. There were no lanterns in the tent, and the creature was covered in shadow. "Sit, Ganondorf," the creature said.

Ganondorf obeyed and sat down. He knew he was licking his lips out of nervousness, he only hoped the creature didn't notice.

"How is the search going?" The creature asked.

"We have invaded Goron City and are preparing to invade Zora's Domain. If we don't find them there, there is only one place where they could be, Lord Ageroth," Ganondorf replied nervously.

"Kakariko Stronghold…" the creature, Ageroth, hissed. "The Sheikah would guard them well…"

"Master, expect success within a week. King Nohansen and Archduke Raphael are still completely oblivious to our intentions," Ganondorf said with a smile.

"The King of Hyrule…Son of Harkinius…" Ageroth hissed.

"That's the one," Ganondorf confirmed. "He doesn't know what we're planning!"

"Very well, Ganondorf. Continue the search. I want those three stones!" Ageroth commanded.

Ganondorf stood to exit. "It will be done, Lord Ageroth. The alliance between our two nations will rip the Hylian-Sheikah Alliance to shreds!" he said. Ganondorf laughed his infamous laugh. "By this time next week, we will rule Hyrule! By this time next week, King Nohansen will be forced to take orders from us!"

"That's it boys! Kakariko Stronghold!" Princess Marina shouted to her troops as she caught sight of the monstrous fortress. The orange sunset shone on the black stone of the fort. The colossal towers and, more defined, the gargantuan windmill was standing tall as the Hylian legion of about forty warriors marched into the Sheikah home. Marina led the group up to the humungous gates, which opened slowly with a lot of noise. "Come on, troops! No time to waste!" Marina shouted to all the Hylian soldiers, doing her best to sound like a figure of authority, even though she was one of the youngest in the group and a woman.

As the Hylian troops marched into the stronghold, a familiar man in a gold and silver robe approached Marina. He was tall and skinny, with a light hunch to his back. His old, hawk-like features penetrated out of his face and met Marina's. His beak-like nose, piercing red eyes, and bushy silver eyebrows looked upon Marina with concern as the Princess Captain entered the fortress.

"Hello, Princess," the man said as he reached out his hand.

"Hello, Archduke Raphael. How are things?" Marina asked as she shook the Sheikah's hand.

Raphael smiled. "Well, we are at war, aren't we?"

Marina smiled back. Raphael had been the leader of the Sheikahs ever since Harkinius's days. It was with Raphael that Marina's grandfather had forged the Hylian-Sheikah Alliance. Raphael was a man the Royal Family trusted greatly. His sharp young features had given in to the power of age, and his proud silver hair had begun to bald. He seemed to grow more wrinkles as a result of the battle.

"Shall we go inside, Princess?" Raphael asked, motioning inside the fortress.

"Of course," Marina responded. "We have some work to do."

No matter how many times Princess Marina Nohansen had been inside Kakariko Stronghold, it always amazed her how, centuries ago, the Sheikah people were able to construct it. Only a fraction of the fortress touched the sunlight. Tunnels upon tunnels joined all the homes of the Sheikah, as well as their shops, inns and other commodities. Torches after torches lined the walls, and just when one thought they had reached the very back of the fort, they find another tunnel taking them further and further back. Among the many torches aligning the walls were ancient Sheikah murals and paintings, showing the people associating with the three Goddesses. The paintings, shielded from the elements of outdoors, were able to stand for generations without wearing down.

Archduke Raphael led Marina and her men through a series of tunnels until they came to a subterranean inn miles from the surface. The men were pleased at the opportunity to relax for a few hours while their captain talked with the Sheikah leader.

Marina was also given some time to freshen up. She enjoyed every second of her shower. It felt good after marching all day. As she felt the warm water fall onto herself, she thought of her father. It was hard to believe that she had seen him only a few hours ago. She didn't even know if she would see him again. He was planning on rescuing three captured Hylian soldiers; a foolish move. But she needed trust his judgement. Her grandfather, King Harkinius, had made bold moves too; sure, he never was at war, but it was bold for him to forge an alliance.

Marina needed to clear her minds of such things. It was time for her to relax. She washed her hair and skin with a type of oily cream that was provided in the shower. The shower concept itself was fascinating to Marina. Outside of Kakariko, if one wanted a hot bath, they needed to build a fire and slowly heat a tub on top of it. Marina figured the Sheikah had gallons upon gallons roasting over a fire at a time, waiting for it to be summoned to a shower just like hers.

After her shower, Marina dried off herself off and changed into a new set of clothes. She called a concierge to wash her old ones. The concierge agreed, and reminded Marina she needed to meet Archduke Raphael in his tower office.

Even with the signs the Sheikah provided to help lost travelers to the surface of the stronghold, it took Marina full hour and a half to find Raphael's office. It was nighttime; the moon and stars reflected off the shined black surface of the tower. The gargantuan windmill overlooked the fortress. The Archduke's spire was built on the roof of the stronghold, over looking the whole Sheikah kingdom. As the Princess crossed the roof, she could see small Sheikah children playing games, and Sheikah teenagers, enjoying the night air. Marina's leather boots squeaked against the cold stone. Her breath was visible in the cool, mountain autumn air. Death Mountain loomed above, watching the Hylian princess as she entered the tall spire.

Marina quickly climbed the narrow stone staircase up to Raphael's office. She didn't know what to say to the Sheikah once she got there; her father only mentioned something about more troops. She would have to come up with her conversation on the spot.

"You're late, Princess," Raphael said, somewhat annoyed when Marina entered the room. It was a large office, with a large window that overlooked the whole stronghold. Bookcases adorned the walls, and a large crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling. A large fire burned in the fireplace on the wall opposite the window. A portrait of Raphael hung behind the large deku wood desk. Several stacks of paper lay on the desk, symbolizing the amount of stamina the war was costing Raphael.

The Archduke himself stood at the window, looking down at his city. He hadn't even looked at Marina when she walked in; he just correctly assumed it was her. He was still wearing his gold and silver robes, and his eyes looked weary as he viewed his kingdom.

"I'm sorry, I got lost," Marina said truthfully.

Raphael smiled as if he was amused by this. "Very well. Let's get to business," he said, as he turned from his window to sit in his leather chair. Marina still stood by the door.

"Oh, I'm sorry Princess, won't you sit down?" Raphael asked while motioning to one of his large chairs in front of his desk.

Marina took a seat and pushed her blond hair out of her face. "Okay, Archduke, the Hylian forces on the frontlines need more support. Any other warriors you can provide would be greatly appreciated," Marina said, forwarding her father's message.

Raphael stood up again and walked over to his window. "These are frightening times…my mind's eye senses danger for my people…I don't know what to make of it," he said. He placed a large palm to the glass, as if he could physically touch and comfort the world.

Raphael turned to the corner of the room. "Do you have anything to add, Priest?" he asked the corner.

"I agree…the Goddesses are surely sleeping…" said a silent voice from the corner.

It was the first time Marina noticed that there was a third person in the room. He sat in a comfortable-looking easy chair that was covered in shadow. His calm-looking hands were folded in his lap, and his green-blue eyes reflected the glow of the burning flame. He had shaggy-long blonde hair, and he wore a long robe that showed green, red and blue colors, the colors of the Goddesses. He seemed to be a Priest of the Three Goddesses.

"Princess, do you know Harkinian? He's a priest in the Kakariko Temple," Raphael explained.

The priest stood out of his chair and walked up to Marina, with his hand outstretched. He bowed on one knee as he took the Princess's hand, and he lightly kissed the top. "It is an honor, milady," he said softly as he massaged her hand with his.

It was the first time Marina had met him. He looked awfully young to be a priest; seventeen, maybe eighteen. Marina pulled her hand back to her side. "Yeah, thanks," she said, her best response to the awkward moment.

Harkinian, the priest, did not return to his chair in the corner; rather, he took a seat next to Marina in front of the desk. Raphael returned to his seat behind the desk.

"Harkinian has been with us for almost a year now. Princess, you may know his father, Rauru, the head priest at the Temple of Time in Castle Town," Raphael explained.

Marina was surprised. Rauru was a friend of the Royal Family, and Marina didn't know he had a son. Marina tried not to show her surprise. She was here to talk the war.

"Archduke, can you or can you not provide more warriors? The Gerudo are getting more aggressive, and my father appreciates all the help he can get," Marina explained.

Raphael took a deep breath. "Kakariko is confused, Princess, what with the Gerudo war and the Gorons…"

Marina couldn't think of what the Goron race of Death Mountain had to do with anything. "What's wrong with the Gorons?" she asked.

Raphael stared into the fire burning in the hearth. "We've asked them for assistance in the war, but they've become more aggressive. We've lost three diplomats to them…our people go up the mountain, they never come back down. The Sheikah are fighting a war on two fronts, Princess. We're running out of men to make sure the stronghold runs smoothly. I'm sorry Princess, and I'm sorry to your father, but we're can't spare another man."

Gorons…_aggressive?_ It was the biggest oxymoron Marina had ever heard. The Gorons were a simple people who lived for the present. They didn't get involved in politics like Hylians, Zoras and Sheikahs did. The Goron people were content eating their rocks and growing their explosives in their mountain home.

"Really?" Marina asked. "I mean, I've never _met _a Goron, but I hear they don't really care about anything."

"We send letters to their leader, Darunia, but the messengers never return. I've lost a colleague of mine from the Temple," Harkinian said. "This is a serious issue."

Marina slammed her fists on the desk. "Let me go up there! I'll bring my men, and we'll wipe them all out and then…"

"Princess," Raphael said, "we can't just storm up there and kill all the Gorons. We need to focus on the Gerudo now."

"Sir," Harkinian interrupted. "If I may, I have an idea."

"Yes?" Raphael asked wearily.

Harkinian cleared his throat and continued in his calm voice. "Princess Marina here is a trained Captain of the Hylian Guard. Perhaps she can prove to be a better diplomat to the Gorons."

"What do you mean?" Raphael asked curiously.

"Yeah, what do you mean?" Marina also asked.

"Well…" Harkinian licked his lips, as if he were nervous about his idea, "the princess and I can go up the mountain alone and speak to Darunia. She could represent the Hylians, and I, even though I am also a Hylian, could represent the Sheikah."

Raphael thought about the idea. "It could work, but I don't want to lose you two."

Marina was furious No one challenged her ego like that. "Please! No pebble-munching softie is going to capture me! I'd shove my whole quiver in their hearts before they'd even see me! I'm in! I'm curious to what's going on up there!"

Harkinian smiled. "Very well. Raphael, any objections?" he asked.

The Sheikah leader continued to rub his chin in thought. After a few seconds he looked Marina in the eye again. "Are you sure? You two? Alone?"

"Don't worry about it, Archduke. We'll be fine," the Princess confirmed.

"Okay. You two can start off tomorrow. Be careful, though. You don't know what's up there!"

Marina and Harkinian stood to leave. "Thank you, Archduke. You have my sincere loyalty," the young priest said with a bow.

"Uhh…yeah. Me too," Marina also said.

The two young diplomats turned and left the office. Marina took another hour and a half looking for the inn down inside the stronghold. She was tired from all the marching of the day, and she was tired in anticipation for the upcoming day. When she finally was able to fall on her cucco-feather bed, sleep came to her almost instantly. She was grateful; a long day awaited her.

The sun failed to wake the princess because, frankly, she was miles underground. She lay on her bed the morning after her meeting with Raphael and Harkinian, her blonde hair covering her face. She wore the same clothes as she had the night before. She was just too tired the previous night to change into her flowing nightgown. As she lay, she dreamed: dreamed about her family, dreamed about the care she was going to show to her new brother or sister, dreamed about her true love…

"Sleep well?"

Marina was startled awake by a voice. She looked to the foot of her bed and saw Harkinian sitting on a small chair. She screamed.

"What are you doing, watching me sleep, you pervert! You call yourself a priest!"

"No, princess, I…"

"I imagine you've been here all night, waiting for me to sleep? Huh, is that it?"

"Princess, I've been here for five minutes!"

Marina scrambled from her bed. "It took five minutes to wake me up? I don't think so!"

Harkinian scratched his blonde hair. "Actually, yes. You're a very heavy sleeper. Now if you'd get ready, we were supposed to meet Raphael at the foot of the mountain twenty minutes ago! You slept in, princess!"

Marina scooped up her rucksack. "Let's go," she said.

Harkinian and Marina didn't speak to each other as they made the tedious journey. Harkinian felt embarrassed for angering the princess, and the princess was furious at Harkinian for watching her sleep. Marina tried to prove to Harkinian that she was in charge, but in reality, she relied on him to get them to the base of the mountain. She didn't want to get lost again.

Eventually, the duo found the gates leading up the mountain, as well as the Archduke of the Sheikahs.

"Good morning, princess. Did you sleep well?" he asked caringly.

"Oh, I slept fine. A bit of a rude awakening, but I slept fine," Marina said while glaring at Harkinian.

"That's good to know. Now, I have prepared a letter that must be presented to Darunia as soon as you meet him. Harkinian has it. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Marina shook her head and took out her bow. "I think this will be all we need."

Harkinian rolled his eyes.

"Very well. Good luck, Harkinian. Good luck, Princess. May the Goddesses smile upon your success."

Marina and Harkinian bowed, and, after Raphael had the gates opened, the Princess and the Priest began to climb the mountain.

The two young ambassadors were in the shadow of Death Mountain, so the air was cool and crisp as they climbed. It was mostly silent; the two didn't speak to each other. Harkinian was afraid of endangering the Princess any further. The mountain slope was steep, and the young priest was having trouble keeping up with the swift princess. He tripped over his colorful robe and fell in the dirt. Marina held back a laugh and continued climbing.

"Princess! Wait!" Harkinian shouted as he jumped to his feet. He scampered across the dark rocks and soil as he attempted to catch up to his partner. He had his priest's staff, a long stick with three jewels, one red, one blue, one green, in the polished wooden head. The rod slowed the already slow Harkinian down even more.

As Harkinian sprinted up the slope to catch up to Marina, he failed to notice a creature leap out at him from behind a boulder. The startled priest lost his footing again and fell to the earth. His grip on his staff weakened and it started to roll away from him. The creature leapt at the priest again, its fangs flailing in the air. It was a four-legged hairy insect, about as large as a dog. Its red torso leapt in the air after Harkinian. The young priest let out a feminine yelp.

Marina heard it and turned around. As she looked down the mountain, she noticed her comrade being threatened by a harmless creature. Marina rolled her eyes, embarrassed for her companion. With one fluid motion, the Princess pulled an arrow out of the quiver on her back, loaded her bow, and fired at the spider.

Her aim was flawless. The wooden arrow pierced the bouncy spider in the heart. It fell down the mountain, dead. Harkinian took a second to catch his breath before retrieving his staff and getting to his feet. He looked at the princess in awe.

"You saved my life…" he said slowly.

Marina rolled her eyes yet again at the naïve priest. "I did not. It was just a tektite. The worst it would have done to you was maybe a few small nibbles. It's nothing."

The priest walked up to the princess. "I am in your debt, mistress."

"Whatever," Marina said. "Let's go. The longer we sit here, the more likely the Gorons will be alerted to our presence."

The duo continued the ascent. Marina was annoyed with mostly everything Harkinian did. It seemed as if the teen had never killed anything in his life! Marina took one look at his scrawny countenance to confirm that. She was on a mission. If the Gorons were really aggressive as Raphael had suggested, she needed to focus on protecting her life. She didn't want to worry about protecting Harkinian's life too.

But still…

The more the twosome climbed, the more Marina noticed how handsome Harkinian was behind his weakling exterior. He had nice hair, nice eyes, and a nice, polite personality. And he was a priest! And at such a young age! It was rare that people became priests before twenty-one. He looked good in that colorful robe.

Marina had to shake the thoughts out of her head. What was she thinking! No way would she fall for him! She gave up the whole "goddesses" garbage back in her teens. She did not want to fall for a priest who made a living preaching what she despised.

"It must be interesting," Harkinian said after a long period of silence. They had not spoken since the tektite attack.

"What must be interesting?" Marina asked, her curiosity outweighing her annoyance with him.

"Being the princess. I can't fathom how many interesting people you must meet," the Priest said while kicking a small stone with his sandaled feet.

Marina shrugged. "Nah, I just leave all that to my father."  
More silence.

"I'm named after your grandfather, King Harkinius," Harkinian said. Marina didn't know if the priest were trying to impress her or if he just wanted to start a conversation.

"Yeah, Raphael said that," Marina said, her annoyance with Harkinian waning.

Marina had her share of questions. "You must be pretty smart to be a priest at such a young age. How old are you again? Eighteen?" She said while looking into his eyes.

Harkinian laughed. "I don't look that young, do I? I'm actually twenty-three."

Marina tripped on a rock and fell over. "_Twenty-three!_ You're older than I am!"

Harkinian helped Marina back to her feet. "I guess so," he said.

Marina needed to change the subject. The last thing she wanted was the priest to know she was growing feelings for him. She decided to act hard-to-get, and the first step was to prove he wasn't getting to her.

"I don't believe it," she said to him.

"You don't believe I'm twenty-three?" he asked, clearly confused.

"No, I don't believe in the goddesses," she said. "I gave that up when I was sixteen."

It was Harkinian's turn to be surprised. "W-what?" he asked.

Harkinian stopped walking. Marina wanted to object; they needed to hurry. But the princess decided to play along.

"Wh—" the princess started. Harkinian put his hand to her mouth to silence her. In the distance the sound of a skulltulla spider was heard scratching on a tree in on the mountain.

"Do you hear that, princess?" Harkinian asked.

Marina nodded. "It's just a spider. Don't worry about it."

Harkinian nodded. "The very fact that all the creatures of Hyrule live together in perfect equilibrium is plenty of proof to me that the Goddesses exist." Harkinian looked up in the sky. "The sun is Din's smile, as she sees the people of Hyrule living together in peace." He looked at the ground and scooped up some soil in his fingers. "The earth is Farore's perseverance. Just as the earth holds the entire world together, the Goddesses' faith holds all hope together." The priest then turned and looked Marina right in the eyes. "And we," he began, "are the children of Nayru. Just as a mother wants the best for her children, Nayru wants all of Hyrule to coexist in peace." Harkinian put his hands on Marina's shoulders. "You may be an atheist, my fair princess, but as far as I am concerned, we are not here by any reason other than the Goddesses. They love us, and they want us to have happiness, even during times of war. I love them, and I know that they love us."

Marina didn't talk to Harkinian since he lectured her on the Goddesses. They continued to climb higher and higher on the tallest mountain in Hyrule. Marina thought about what Harkinian had said about the nature of the Goddesses, but she tried not to get too inquisitive. She needed to focus on the mission.

The duo passed a large cave cut right into the mountain. The end of the tunnel could not be seen, and it was as if a giant black blanket had been hung down the entrance, cutting off all vision. The place was empty. Not a soul stirred, giving the tunnel an eerie aura.

"The Dodongos' Cavern," Marina recognized, although she had never been here. "Based on my studies, this place is usually busy with Gorons who mine the stones."

"But no one's here, what's going on?" Harkinian asked. The priest leaned against his staff, as if he were so tired from hiking that he could not stand.

"Strange…" Marina said, mostly to herself.

They continued climbing. Marina hoped Goron City wasn't too much farther up the mountain; she really wanted to learn what was going on. She suspected that there may be a connection between the aggression of the Gorons and the aggression of the Gerudo, but she doubted it. If the Gerudo wanted support in their revolution, they wouldn't have gone to the lazy Gorons.

Marina saw a few unlit torches lining the walls of a canyon the twosome was walking down. Goron City was close by.

As they continued walking, Marina felt something wasn't right, as if they were about to do something foolish or reckless. Then, in a split second, Marina's suspicions were confirmed.

The Hylian princess felt the ground disappear from under her. One second she was standing the next she was falling. She could feel Harkinian fall next to her. A scream escaped her lips, and a louder one escaped the priest's lips as well. Marina felt her feet hit the ground. She looked up to see that the duo had fallen in a hidden pit. Beneath her feet Marina noticed the blanket that had been covered in dirt to disguise the pit. The walls of the pit were dirt, and it was about twenty feet up to the surface. The princess cursed. She had fallen for the oldest trick in the book.

"No!" she screamed. She felt her fist slam into the wall of the pit, causing a small landslide of dirt to break off and fall to the ground. "I can't believe I didn't see that!"

Harkinian sat down. "It's okay, princess. We'll figure something out."

Marina was about to object when she heard a female voice shout out, "Hey! Nabeesha! We caught someone!"

_That can't be a Goron…_Marina thought.

A few seconds later the faces of two Gerudo knights filled faced down on Marina and Harkinian.

"Haha! Yes! Ganondorf will be happy with us!" one of them said enthusiastically.

"Alright, let's haul them out and lock them up with all the Gorons and the others from Kakariko," the other said.

As the two Gerudo knights led Marina and Harkinian through the Gerudo-infested Goron City, several of Marina's questions were answered. Why were the Gorons aggressive? They weren't, she realized. The Gerudo had been here the whole time right under the Sheikahs' noses. Why weren't there any Gorons at Dodongos' Cavern? They were under siege by the Gerudo.

Marina also had several questions she wanted answered. What were the Gerudo hoping to accomplish by invading Goron territory? What did Ganondorf want by declaring war in the first place? And most importantly to Marina, Would she ever see her father again?

Things seemed more and more confusing as time wore on. She needed someone to help her keep her head on straight. As the two young ambassadors were being led to their prison, Marina slowly reached out and grabbed Harkinian's hand. He didn't object.

Marina didn't know what was in store. _Only time will tell…_she thought to herself. _Only time will tell…_

_ > > > > > > > > > > >_

Thanks for reading. I'll try to have Chp. 4 up before Feb. 1, but I can't say for sure. I am performing stand-up on the 28th, so I need to make sure my routine is good! Be sure to review this chapter for me! I mostly want to know if the "romance" between Marina and Harkinian is believeable. Thanks!


	5. Rare Victory

Alright! I'm really excited about this new chapter! I hope you enjoy!

> > > > > > > > > > >

**Rare Victory**

The nightmares had returned. They pierced the poor King's mind until the point that he woke. King Nohansen fell out of his bed, as he had done the previous morning. This time, instead of falling out of a rickety cot in his tent in Hyrule Field, he fell out of a comfortable waterbed in a coral cave in Zora's Domain. He felt his face rub the cool stone of the floor as full consciousness surrounded him. It took him a second to register where he was; the previous day had been such a blur of confusing activity that he almost forgot the Zoras. The King stood up. The room was small and dark, containing only the bed and the King's armor and equipment.

The King was tempted to officially awaken and get dressed, but he remembered what his old friend, Kaepora Gaebora, had told him before he retired the night before: "Get some sleep, boy. Only the Goddesses know what's in store tomorrow!"

The King decided to follow the advice. "I'll just lie down," he said to himself. "I won't sleep. I don't want any more horrible nightmares." The King laid himself down on the waterbed and shut his tired eyes.

The nightmare was the same as before: the King's daughter, Princess Marina, was walking alone inside Kakariko Stronghold. Suddenly, all the surrounding area turned black and the princess grew scared. Then a shadowy figure emerged out of nowhere and shoved a blade through the Princess. The princess fell to the stone floor and disappeared.

As the King lay, he thought of his nightmares; this had never happened to him. He wondered if it was a sign from the Goddesses of the future. The Queen, Kaileia, probably would have thought this. The King was tempted to warn Marina and get her as far away from Kakariko Stronghold as possible, but he objected. She would dismiss his theory that it was from the Goddesses. As much as it pained the King to admit it, his beloved daughter stopped believing in that stuff years ago.

The King tried to clear his thoughts of such depressing subjects. He needed to focus on the day ahead. The Gerudo were about to attack Zora's Domain. The King checked the clock on the wall of the cave; it read four-thirty. He was to meet with his captains; Isaac, Kaepora, and the Zora Laruto; in three hours. He needed all the rest he could muster. Despite his earlier promises, he couldn't stop his eyelids from shutting and carrying him to sleep.

Meanwhile, another Hylian was having trouble sleeping. Captain Isaac had awoken from his waterbed in a separate room and had given up on acquiring additional sleep. He decided to step outside to get a breath of fresh air.

Or, at least as fresh as it got in Zora's Domain. It was still a cave, with no view of the moon or stars. Isaac was glad he was able to walk around without his armor on. His leather tunic was able to move freely. The Hylian captain avoided the many cave puddles as best as he could and found a nice dry spot to stop and sit. A nearby lantern provided illumination as Isaac reached into the inner pocket of his tunic to provide a small, monochrome pictograph. The four people in the photo smiled. The two adults held hands, and the older child grinned a smile that was missing its two front teeth. A tear escaped Isaac's eye as he looked at the picture. The tears stung as they entered the Captain's fresh scars, but Isaac didn't care. He was just happy to sit down and really look at his family.

Isaac heard footsteps nearby and could see a small silhouette approaching. The sound of soft boots colliding with the sand and stone of the cave grew closer and closer to the sitting captain. Eventually, the figure entered the small radius of light and Isaac could see who approached.

"Captain Isaac, do you not know what time it is? You need rest!" Laruto said when she was in range to softly speak to Isaac.

The captain looked into the Zora's almond-shaped black eyes. "I couldn't sleep," he said honestly.

The Zora leader noticed the miniature pictograph in Isaac's hand and the tears that ran down his face.

"What's that?" Laruto asked.

Isaac handed the colorless photo to the Zora. "My family. We had it taken the day before I left for battle."

The Zora smiled when she saw the picture.

"She's beautiful…she must really be worried," Laruto said.

The photo showed Captain Isaac and his beautiful wife holding hands, and their two boys sitting in front. Isaac pointed to the older boy.

"That's Aaron. He just turned four. He's quite a handful. He knocked out his two front teeth when he fell running in the streets of Castle Town." Isaac pointed to the other, younger boy. "That's Jacob. He's only eighteen months. He already shows great talent in walking and talking…well, sort of. He only grunts and groans."

Laruto laughed. "You must miss them," the young Zora said.

Captain Isaac shrugged. "I know I'm where I'm supposed to be."

The Zora shook her head. "I could never be that brave," she said.

Isaac was starting to like Laruto. "Do you have any children?" he asked.

"No, but I've always wanted to lay eggs and raise a baby. Maybe someday," she said.

There was silence in the cave. The only sound came from the distant waterfalls as they hit the water and stone. After a while, Laruto stood up. "We need all the rest we can get. I'm going back to bed. Goodnight, Captain Isaac."

Isaac continued to sit as the sounds of the Zora leader's footsteps faded away into the night cave. He enjoyed the quiet serenity of the night cave almost as much as he enjoyed the adrenaline rush of battle. As he sat and relaxed, he contemplated the words of the Zora, and realized that he needed the sleep. After a while, he put his beloved pictograph in his pocket and returned to his quarters. Daylight came early.

Isaac, Daphnes and Laruto weren't the only ones up at the early dark hours of the morning. Kaepora Gaebora, the old sage, was also up. His bed lay on the other side of his small room, unused. His old, wrinkled eyes were worn from being up all night studying his records. He looked over pages that were so old that Kaepora didn't remember why he had written them in the first place. The broken flash orb, the subject of his study, lay on the table away from the myriad of pages. _It's been hours, _the mage thought to himself. _I haven't gotten anywhere._ He remembered seeing the young captain, Isaac, studying the flash orb the previous night in Zora's Domain. Isaac explained to him that it was the means of a small Gerudo band to escape capture from Daphnes and Isaac's party. Kaepora said he recognized the orb from somewhere and volunteered to go through his records to find out what it was. He had no idea that it would take him all night.

He thought he was going to fall asleep searching for the orb in his records when he saw a small drawing he drew ages ago. It was the orb on a page titled "Desert Poes".

"Poes…" Kaepora said to himself as he read down the page of his notes.

_The Desert Poes, a race of undead creatures hailing from the Gerudo Valley, is one of the most overlooked and unnoticed races in Hyrule. The Poes cannot die in the normal way, and only die if their "soul" is released from its storage area. The Storage Area, which looks and functions like a small lantern, is delicate and is the highest priority of the Poes. If the glass storage area is destroyed, the poe will be destroyed._

_The Poes, much like the Goron race of Death Mountain, dislike politics and diplomacy and will usually avoid all contact with the Hylians, Gerudo and Sheikah._

_Despite this, the Poes are extremely hostile and protective of their territory. They are warriors, and kill anyone stupid enough to invade their land._

_The known leader of the Poes is Ageroth, the largest and most powerful Poe._

"Ageroth the Poe Lord," Kaepora said aloud after he read the notes. "Perhaps he is the one providing the Gerudo with extra support."

The mage rose from his desk and walked to his bed. "For now, I need all the sleep I can muster," he said, as he fell to the waterbed and went to sleep.

None of the leaders were much rested when the new day arrived. Daphnes Nohansen felt as if his armor weighed twice as much as it should have. Laruto, although usually very bossy, was having a hard time ordering her soldiers. Isaac washed his face in the cool waters of Zora's Domain, and felt too tired to wince at the pain he felt from the scars on his face. Kaepora Gaebora felt as if he couldn't cast a single spell.

All four leaders met in the Zora throne room while the Hylian and Zora soldiers prepared for the day. The damp, calm atmosphere of the cave made the three Hylians and Zora feel even more tired then they already were, adding to the confusion. Kaepora Gaebora asked to open the meeting by sharing the vital information he had learned early that morning.

The mage reached into his brown robe and withdrew the shattered flash orb. He heard the king moan as he placed it on the coral table with a small _clink!_

"I believe," the mage began, "that this orb comes from the race of Desert Poes."

Kaepora surprisingly didn't get much of a reaction. Kaepora assumed his comrades were too tired and frustrated to show their surprise. "That's _bad_," the mage clarified.

Captain Isaac rubbed his temples with his forefinger and thumb. His usually confident impression was beginning to struggle under the weight of the war. "Why the Poes?" he asked no one.

Laruto was confused. "What are the Poes?" the young Zora asked.

Isaac was quick to answer with his pessimistic reply. "The Poes are a race of undead demons from the West. They are nearly impossible to kill. They can multiply faster than the most fertile tektite. They are incredibly strong and some can even master dark magic. Does that answer your question, Miss Zora!" Isaac said, growing angry with frustration.

"I'm sorry, I just asked!" Laruto said. "Don't think that you're the only one with people caring for you, Isaac!"

As Isaac and Laruto argued, No one noticed a small tear develop in the eye of the King of Hyrule. His hands clasped to his face, trying to hide the tears, however, he was quickly discovered by his old master.

"Are you alright, boy?" Kaepora asked Daphnes while putting a hand on his shoulder.

The king removed his hands to show his face red with tears. "I've failed, Kaepora," he said.

Isaac and Laruto stopped arguing to listen to the king. "All I wanted was to be as successful as my father," King Nohansen admitted. "I can't even keep the nation together! In fact, I can't even be with my wife when she's about to give birth! I'm a complete failure!"

King Nohansen put his hands to his face and continued to cry. Laruto, Kaepora, and Isaac fell silent. Then, in one fluid motion, Kaepora raised his hand in the air and hit Daphnes over the back of the head with his palm. The blow was so hard that the King almost fell out of his chair.

It was so sudden that Laruto and Isaac didn't know how to react. Daphnes slowly turned to face Kaepora. "What was that for!" The king angrily asked his old mentor.

Kaepora shrugged and rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me you forgot, boy! Remember back when you were seventeen years old! As part of your training, I asked you to lift a large boulder over your head, and you said you couldn't. We agreed that whenever you said you couldn't do something before you tried, I was allowed to smack you over the head. I think that saying you're a failure counts!"

The room fell silent. Then, slowly but surely, as recollection of the memory returned to him, Daphnes Nohansen started laughing. He went from a small chuckle to a full-on laugh. He remembered that! He was only a teen, but he remembered! He remembered getting that first hit, and promising himself that he would try everything before giving up! It was as clear as day!

Daphnes's laughing had caused Laruto, Isaac and Kaepora to start laughing too. After a half-second of laughing, Daphnes stood up and announced, "I don't care if we fight the Poes or the Forest Children, we're giving it our all! The Poes could be invisible and fifty-feet tall before we give up! Are you with me!" The King held out his hand.

The other three put their hands on his. "Yeah!" they all shouted.

It was unusually warm for an autumn morning. The rays of the morning sun had no difficulty reaching the ground, and the night's frost was quickly melting away. Zora's River, full of clear, calm water, ran its course past the mountains and towards Hyrule Castle Town. The tall grass that grew on the banks of the river blew with the breeze, and the few trees that grew swayed as well. Daphnes Nohansen, glad to be out of the Zora's Domain cave and glad to be breathing real, Hyrule Field air, watched the beautiful day unfold without listening to the strategies of Isaac. The king noticed a large, dark flock of keese take off from a tall tree, headed for Lake Hylia to catch some fish for their breakfast. It was a clear day; the only cloud visible was the one circling Death Mountain in the distance. The King could make out small bunches of Zelda flowers growing on the slopes of the mountains surrounding Death Mountain.

Kaepora Gaebora leaned in close to Daphnes and said, "You're thinking of her, aren't you, boy? You're thinking of Kaileia."

Daphnes smiled. "I remember when you gave me that Zelda flower. It was the nicest thing you ever did for me."

Kaepora smiled his calm smile. "It was the least I could do. You loved her, right?"

Daphnes stared of into space solemnly. "That night at the lake…we wove the stems…we made vows to each other…I feel like I'm breaking those vows, Kaepora. I'm not with her when she needs me," the King said.

Kaepora shook his head. "You mustn't think things like that! Kaileia has her trials, just as you have yours! Your place is with your nation!"

Daphnes nodded his head. "You're right, Kaepora. You're right."

Daphnes stopped daydreaming and started to listen to Isaac as he explained the mission to the Hylian troops and Zora troops, including Laruto. The large army was standing by the river, each donning full armor and weapons. The Hylians, donning steel armor and swords with leather armor, looked out of place with the clam-shell armored, spear wielding Zoras.

"…We're expecting the Gerudo and possibly Desert Poes to attack from the Northwest," Isaac was explaining in his deep, loud, confident voice, "show them no mercy!" Isaac shouted as loud as he could. He was returned with cheers from the troops. They were ready for battle.

A few miles away, Ganondorf approached Ageroth as the large Gerudo force marched in Hyrule Field towards Zora's Domain. The Gerudo male had news for his ally that he knew would make Ageroth furious. The Gerudo licked his lips and spoke.

"I've got news, master," Ganondorf said. Ageroth looked at the Gerudo leader. The Poe Lord's red eyes pierced through Ganondorf's, and his cold breath was reaching Ganondorf causing the Gerudo leader to wince.

"Yes…?" Ageroth hissed.

Ganondorf looked down at the ground as he walked. "Our spies have told us that the Hylian forces have been at Zora's Domain for a day now, preparing for our attack," he Gerudo leader said.

Ageroth looked away from the Gerudo leader. "I know…" he hissed. "Nohansen…is with them…"

"What!" Ganondorf said, half in surprise that Ageroth already knew this, and half in surprise that the King of Hyrule himself was with the Hylians. "How did you know!"

"I have sensed it…" the Poe Lord replied.

Ganondorf wanted to know _how _Ageroth had sensed it, but was too afraid to ask. "Are we continuing the attack?" Ganondorf asked.

"Of course…I want…the stones…" Ageroth hissed. "I need…the keys to…the realm!"

Ganondorf knew this. It was all part of the plan. However, he objected to entering battle where they were outnumbered. "Perhaps the stones aren't in the Domain! We should attack Kakariko!"

"Here first…" Ageroth hissed, putting a skeletal hand on Ganondorf's shoulder. "I want…to meet…this Nohansen…myself!"

Through Isaac's telescope, Daphnes Nohansen was able to make out the Gerudo band approaching. They were led by Ganondorf, who, just a few days ago, advised Daphnes not to lead his own people into battle.

"Hypocrite," Daphnes said under his breath as he gazed through the glass. The King of Hyrule only noticed about fifty Gerudo soldiers marching, in stark contrast to the fifty Hylians plus one hundred Zora soldiers. The King smiled from behind his growing beard. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Well?" Isaac asked when Daphnes had returned to him, Kaepora, and Laruto.

"About fifty, plus Ganondorf," Daphnes said as he handed the spyglass to Isaac.

"Ha!" Isaac said with a smile as he realized the amazing advantage the Hylians had over the Gerudo. "I can't wait to skin those bloody women!"

Laruto also smiled and let out a deep breath of relief. The young Zora was new to the war scene, and hadn't ever fought a battle, Daphnes realized. He needed to protect her. She was so young and bright. She was a bright asset to the Zora race.

The only one not celebrating was Kaepora. The old mage rubbed his bearded chin and thought. "Something's not right, boy," he said to Daphnes. "I sense something…like the Gerudo are hiding something…be careful."

The Gerudo let out a low note from a wooden instrument, signaling the arrival of the Gerudo to the Zora's River. As the King of Hyrule walked down to meet with Ganondorf, he secretly prayed to the Goddesses that everything went well. He didn't want it to end like the last confrontation, with more questions than answers.

Daphnes was also blessed to have his old mentor with him. Kaepora was such a good friend to Daphnes that the King was much more relieved than he was last time. As the Hylian and Zora forces approached the miniscule Gerudo legion, the old mage looked into the eyes of his old student and smiled. Daphnes had to smile back.

"Good luck, boy," Kaepora said, his bright eyes looking straight into Daphnes.

"Thanks," Daphnes replied.

The clear waters of Zora's River ran past the two opposing armies. A slight breeze, from the East, blew by, causing Ganondorf's long hair to blow. Light humidity was felt from the large waterfall at the entrance to Zora's Domain. Daphnes, Laruto, Kaepora and Isaac stood at the front of the armies as Ganondorf stood at the front of his. Captain Isaac noticed the Gerudo knight who had clawed his face just a few days before standing behind the lone Gerudo male. After a few seconds of silence, Ganondorf smiled and spoke.

"We meet again, King Nohansen. I see you've made some new friends," he said motioning to the Zoras.

Laruto, as fiery as always spoke up. "You're darn right! We're going to kill you all!" She said, her silver scales reflecting light from the mid-morning sun.

The Gerudo knights laughed. Ganondorf's infamous deep, booming laugh reflected through the valleys of eastern Hyrule.

King Nohansen stepped forward. "You're hopelessly outnumbered, Ganondorf. Tell us why you've declared war and we might arrange for you to return to your desert outnumbered."

Ganondorf laughed again. "There's someone I want you to meet, Nohansen. He's been an invaluable ally to our cause." The Gerudo raised his gauntlet and snapped his fingers. He smiled as a large creature appeared out of what seemed to be nothing but thin air. The creature, which was as tall as Ganondorf, looked like a walking corpse. Its head consisted of a skull with bright, white eyes. It was dressed in black armor from his shoulders down to his black boots. It's arms were exposed, but consisted of nothing but large, thick, gray bones. The creature wore a large, black, leather belt. Tied to it was a large glass lantern that burned a small, green flame. Daphnes recognized it as the creature's soul essence. It was his target. Also tied to the belt was the largest curved sword Daphnes had ever seen.

"Ageroth," the King heard Kaepora mutter under his breath.

"This is Ageroth, Lord of the Desert Poes. His assistance in this war has been nothing short of extraordinary," Ganondorf said.

"Nohansen…" the large Poe muttered, stretching its bony arm towards the King of Hyrule.

The King drew his sword. "Tell us what your intentions are, or we will be forced to attack!"

"Then let us attack!" Ganondorf said, drawing his sword as well. The Gerudo knights cheered.

"Prepare to slaughter them all!" Isaac shouted to the Hylians and Zoras, getting a cheer from them as well.

Ganondorf smiled. "Don't count on it! You're outnumbered!" With that, the Gerudo man snapped his fingers, and no less than one hundred spinning blurs appeared out of thin air. They looked like Ageroth, only smaller and donning only a strange purple cloth as armor. They held their lanterns in their own bony fingers, as opposed to tying it off like Ageroth. The Desert Poes were ready to even the score.

With this new surprise on the field, the tables had turned dramatically. The King of Hyrule didn't know what to do. Who knew how hard it was to slay these undead warriors? Daphnes turned to Kaepora. The mage nodded slowly. The King drew a deep breath and shouted, "Hylians! Zoras! ATTTAAAAACK!"

The two opposing armies clashed. The Hylians and Zoras exploded in a fury of steel swords and spears, while the Gerudo and Poes fought with their curved blades.

As the maelstrom blasted all around him, King Nohansen swung his sword at a small Poe. The creature wasn't expecting the blow and it dropped its lantern. The glass shattered and the purple flame inside vanished in the air. The body of the creature burst into flame and also disappeared. The Poes were an annoyance indeed.

Captain Isaac, in his comfortable zone in the heat of battle, found exactly who he was looking for. He pointed his steel sword at the Gerudo knight responsible for the scars on his face and smiled. The Gerudo nodded. The two approached each other. After an exchange of confident smiles, Isaac swung his sword horizontally towards the Gerudo. She anticipated and blocked with her sword, quickly returning with a jab in the Hylians shoulder. Isaac held back the pain and continued fighting.

The old mage was surrounded by both Gerudo and Poe as the others fought. He stupidly entered the battle unarmed, hoping that he would be protected by Daphnes. He couldn't cast a spell because he would be left unarmed while he concentrated on it. As the Gerudo and Poes, with their swords drawn, neared closer. The sweat started to appear on Kaepora's face. Suddenly, the Gerudo knights and the Poe warriors fell to the ground with spears stuck in their backs. Laruto and a group of Zora spearmen had saved Kaepora at the last second.

"You alright?" the young Zora Laruto asked from her vantage point on top of a hill.

"Yes, thanks to you, child," Kaepora replied. "I need a weapon."

Laruto threw down a steel Hylian sword. "Here!"

"Where did you get this?" Kaepora asked.

Laruto looked solemn. "Fallen soldier," she replied.

Ganondorf and Ageroth had moved to a safe viewpoint on a grassy hill overlooking the battle. The Hylians and Zoras proved to be a lot stronger than anticipated. The Poes and Gerudo were falling a lot faster than the Hylians and Zoras. "This isn't working!" Ganondorf shouted. "We'll never get the stones! How could we lose like this?"

"Distraction…the real battle…is yet to come…" Ageroth hissed.

Ganondorf looked at the Poe. "What are you talking about?"

"I foresaw…our defeat…before…we began…" the Poe continued.

Ganondorf was furious. "What are we doing? Leading our people to die like that! Get my sisters out of here if we're just going to lose!"

Ageroth held out his cold, bony arm to silence Ganondorf. "No…sacrifice…return…to the…fortress!" The Poe took out a small, black, ball. In one fluid movement, the Poe threw it on the ground. The flash pierced through the valley, blinding the warriors in the valley by the river.

Daphnes noticed the flash while he dodged the curved sword of a vile Gerudo warrior woman. As he defended her blows with his own sword, he said to himself, "No…he got away again…"

Isaac and the Gerudo were locked in a fierce fight. Isaac was a very skilled swordsman. He was top of his class at the Kakariko Soldier Academy, and he showed it in combat. The Captain defended the swift blows of his female nemesis and parried with such grace that it was as if the two were dancing. Eventually, they separated from the main battle and the duel moved up on a hill overlooking the river. The fighting duo continued fighting when they moved to an area where the hill became a steep cliff. The sounds of the other battle became more and more faint. The Hylian Captain was sweating profusely under his armor, and so was his nemesis. Eventually, the Gerudo shed her layer of armor, to the point where she was nothing covering her arms, head, and stomach. This made the Gerudo knight more agile, and she showed it. Isaac developed a strategy: he would use he strength advantage over the woman. He moved his steel sword so profusely that the Gerudo woman was staggering from his blows. After attacking like this for a few minutes, the Gerudo tired and lowered her sword down to her feet. Isaac didn't miss this opportunity. He slammed his boot on the woman's wrist, trapping her right arm and sword against the ground. The Captain smiled as he held his sword up to the Gerudo's throat. The look on her face showed surprise, confusion, and defeat all at once.

"Drop it," he said to her, and she went along and loosened her grip on her curved sword. Captain Isaac used his free foot to kick the sword down the nearby cliff. He heard it clash against the stones and dirt until he heard it splash into Zora's River below.

"Stand," the Captain ordered the now-unarmed Gerudo knight after releasing his boot off her wrist. The woman obeyed, and Isaac was sure that his sword was still pressed against her throat.

The Captain had little difficulty cuffing her hands together. She showed no resistance. After her hands were tied in front of her body, Isaac began to take her back to the battlefield. After a few steps, the Gerudo stopped walking. She turned to him and smiled.

"You're very handsome," she said while approaching him. She took his hands into her own and placed them on her bare belly. His thumb rubbed against the jewel that pierced her soft bellybutton. She then began to untie the straps on his breastplate.

"You've got to look nice behind that armor," She said sensually as his breastplate fell to the ground and rolled down the cliff into the river. The Gerudo then suddenlty thrust forward and kissed Isaac on the lips. The Captain didn't know how to react; the Gerudo _was _very beautiful, and for a short period of time he forgot that she was the enemy and he was a married father. He held her warm stomach in his cold hands and kissed her back.

Suddenly, the flash of Ganondorf and Ageroth's flash orb hit Isaac's eyes, causing him to look in its direction to see what had happened. It was just the distraction the Gerudo was waiting for. She stopped the kiss and slammed her handcuffs into Isaac's jaw. The steel cuffs cut his chin and a small rivulet of blood escaped down his neck. Isaac was astonished. The Gerudo then pushed the reeling captain off the cliff. As she watched him roll down the steep slope, she smiled, pulled her long hair out of her eyes, and said to herself. "Those gullible men. It works every time."

Isaac heard his own bone crack as he rolled down the hill. He didn't know what had happened; it all occurred so fast. He stopped with a loud splash as he exploded in the river. His right arm was numb. The cold water collided with the searing pain he was feeling throughout his whole body. He looked over at his right arm. It was bent in deformed shape. _What have I done? _He thought to himself. _I let my guard down, I let that woman get to me, and I paid for it. I'm sorry…my dear wife_. He then closed his eyes and passed out.

The Hylian sun was setting over Gerudo Valley. Daphnes Nohansen, Laruto, and Kaepora Gaebora looked over the carnage that had resulted from the battle.

"We lost a lot of warriors, but not as many as they did," Laruto said as she looked over the corpses of the Hylians, Zoras, and Gerudos. The remaining Hylian soldiers were carrying the injured soldiers towards Zora's Domain, were the Zoras would nurse them back to health.

"It was a victory, but a bloody one," Daphnes said. "I lost a lot of men, but didn't get any questions answered. Ganondorf and Ageroth got away."

"There's another chance, boy," a tired looking Kaepora Gaebora said as he drank from the river. "They've gone back to the fortress, where they're probably planning the next attack."

"You're right," Daphnes said as he took names of the fallen Hylian soldiers. He then stopped, as he got an idea all of a sudden. "That's it!" he shouted. Laruto and Kaepora looked at him strangely.

"What?" Laruto asked.

"We need to invade Gerudo Valley!" Daphnes shouted.

"No, that'll get us all killed!" Laruto said.

"I'm tired of playing defense. If we play offense, we might be able to figure out what's happening!" Daphnes suggested.

Kaepora laughed. "That's the boy I taught! Risky but sure! I like it!"

"Then it's settled. Laruto, if you don't want to come, so be it. I appreciate your assistance here," Daphnes said while bowing to the young Zora.

"No, I'm coming. I'm seeing this out to the end," Laruto said.

Daphnes smiled at her.

"Oh no! Boy, come quick!" Kaepora shouted from the river.

Daphnes ran over. The river was reflecting the sun from the sunset, giving the whole valley an orange hue. Floating in the river with his breastplate missing was Captain Isaac.

"He's alive," Kaepora said as Daphnes and Laruto scooped the Captain's body out of the water. "Unconscious, but alive. Be careful, it looks like his arm is broken."

"Laruto, can the Zoras help broken arms?" Daphnes asked.

The Zora nodded. "Let's get him inside," the young Zora said.

As the two men carried the unconscious captain towards the Domain, Daphnes looked at the startling sunset. The desert loomed in the distance, their next destination.

"It was a rare victory," the King said, "but a victory nonetheless."

As the four captains entered the Domain, the memories of the rare victory still fresh on their minds, they wondered if this was really a rare victory, or if victories were going to become more common.

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Alright! Thanks for all the readers! It would be awesome to get more reviews, so if you like what you read, spread the word! Be sure to review yourself! What did you like? What DIDN'T you like? I wanna know! Any review is great, but in-depth reviews are even better! Next Chapter: Marina deals with her ego vs. her crush as she and Harkinian escape from Death Mountain

Thanks, Clark


	6. The Tides Are Turning

Hey, thanks for allthe reviews. Please spread the word! It would be AWESOME to get more! Feel free to post this on any Zelda website as long as you give me, ClarkIsaac, credit for the story. Thanks, and enjoy!

> > > > > > > > > >

**The Tides are Turning**

Princess Marina charged and slammed her sore shoulder into the rusty gate for the umpteenth time. A cloud of dust exploded into her face, causing her to cough and lean against the wall while she caught her breath. Harkinian—the weakling worm—sat in the corner of their jail cell, thinking to himself and silently praying to the Goddesses.

Marina regained her composure and walked to the back of the red-rock cave. A few torches lined the walls, giving the princess the precious illumination as she attempted to tear down the iron gate again. She ran at full speed, her tired right shoulder preparing to hit the gate. She collided, and the stubborn door once again failed to give way to the princess. The inertia of the hit knocked Marina off her feet, and she stumbled to the ground.

The Princess, her calm and pretty face now caked with dirt and dust, looked at the other two patrons in the cell. Harkinian, his own handsome face, colorful robes, and open toes caked with mud, had his face in his hands, deep in thought. Marina shook her head out of frustration. She must have slammed into that gate one hundred times, and at no time did the Priest offer to help her. He probably would have gotten too tired, Marina sarcastically concluded.

The Princess spit on the red dirt of the cave floor, causing the proper priest to flinch. Almost everything he did annoyed the Princess, and he was aware of it. Marina, however, began to develop feelings towards the skinny weakling as the two climbed the mountain. She even held his hand, a move she regretted. She promised herself that she wouldn't fall for him. She was breaking that promise, she realized.

The other patron was an elderly Goron who also provided no help to their escape. He had white hair sticking up in all directions on his rocky head. He had spent the last few hours crying and saying things like, "they're gunna kill us all!" and "it's the end for me!" much to the annoyance of Marina.

It seemed that the Princess was the only one who cared about escaping and alerting not only Archduke Raphael but her father, Daphnes Nohansen, what was going on up on Death Mountain.

The Princess and her companion were deep inside Death Mountain, in a cell that consisted of a natural cave and a gate to keep them inside. An extremely worn-out lock and chain stubbornly held the gate shut. Even though the Gerudos were the ones who locked the twosome in the cave, the warrior women were nowhere to be found.

Marina tried again. As she charged, she screamed at the top of her lungs, as if it would give her the extra strength to break the chain and open the gate to start the escape. She collided, and once again, the chain held and the Princess fell to the earth.

"It's never going to break," Harkinian, not moving from his praying position, commented from the corner of the cell. "The Gerudo would never use a chain they knew would break so easily."

Marina looked over to him. She had had enough. The Princess pulled some hair out of her eyes and walked to the Priest. The old Goron backed away from the furious woman.

Harkinian stood up and looked at Marina. "There's no need to get mad, Princess. It's just fact."

"I don't see you breaking your arm to get us out of here!" Marina said angrily.

For the first time since Marina had met him, Harkinian showed a sign of anger. He pointed a finger angrily at Marina. "I've done more than you could ever do. I've been praying."

"Stop saying that! The Goddesses aren't helping! _They don't exist!" _Marina screamed, the frustration of Harkinian and their situation finally making her snap. She started to cry and walk to the wall to be alone. She thought of how she may never see her parents again, and how she may never meet her new brother or sister.

The Princess felt a hand on her shoulder, and she was instantly comforted. She turned around and looked at Harkinian. His calm green eyes cheered up the princess, and his goofy smile and shaggy hair made her laugh. He reached out a calm finger and wiped Marina's tears from her cheeks. "Trust me, Marina," he said as he held the Princess in a firm hug. "We'll get out of here, just wait. The Goddesses will provide a way."

The Princess wanted to object like she always did, but something told her not to. She nodded and walked back to the other side of the cell. Harkinian sat down, leaning his back against the stone wall. Marina sat down next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder. She needed the rest. She decided to take Harkinian's challenge and wait for the Goddesses to provide away. The Princess slowly clasped her fingers with the priest's. Once again, he didn't object.

"You two are so confusing!" the old Goron said suddenly.

Harkinian and Marina looked at him. After a pause, Harkinian asked, "What do you mean?"

"Look at ya! You're fightin' one second, and the next your holdin' each other! Girl, do you love him or not!" The old Goron asked, motioning to Harkinian.

Marina didn't respond, but just sat and held Harkinian's hand and tried to sleep. She failed, mostly because she was so frightened and frustrated. _I'll trust him and his Goddesses, just this once…_the princess thought to herself.

More precious time passed. The Princess stopped crying. Harkinian lightly tickled her arms with his soft hands. The old Goron didn't say anything else, and he curled in a ball and fell asleep, giving the two the privacy they needed to have a nice conversation.

But it didn't happen, despite how much Marina wanted to talk to Harkinian to plan a strategy out of their cave. She couldn't bring herself to speak. She would take his advice and wait.

She almost drifted off herself before hearing someone approach the cell. Marina sprang to her feet and ran to the gate. The dim light in the cave prevented her from really seeing the two people approach, but she could tell that they were two female Gerudo knights.

As the two enemies drew closer, Marina could, unfortunately, see how they were dressed. Both knights wore typical Gerudo style pants and shoes, but their upper body was covered only in a single cloth wrapped around the chest and tied in the back, leaving the Gerudos' arms, shoulders, and stomachs exposed. Each of the ladies had a small red jewel piercing her belly. Marina rolled her eyes. The Princess remembered a time when she was twelve that she wanted to pierce her navel, but didn't because she was afraid what her parents would think. Now as she looked at the two Gerudo knights, she was happy she made the decision she did. There was no way she wanted to be associated with the Gerudo.

"Hey, it's nighttime and we're looking for a little…company," one of the Gerudo women said as she approached the cell.

Marina was shocked that it was already night—inside the cave she had no way of telling the time—since the two had left Kakariko Stronghold early that morning.

The Princess ran up to the gate. "Let us out, you slut!" Marina shouted to the Gerudo. They just laughed.

"We weren't talking to _you!_" the same knight cackled back, making Marina red with embarrassment. "How about you, handsome?" she continued, pointing to Harkinian.

The priest looked dumbfounded. "M-me?" he said, pointing to himself.

"Not the girl and not the old Goron. Yes, you!" the second knight said. "Now, do you want to come with us or not?"

Harkinian just stood there, dumbfounded. Obviously he had never been in this situation before. "But," he started, "there are two of you and one of—"

"We can take turns," the first Gerudo said with a smile as she suggestively rubbed her stomach. "You look so tired…don't you want to go to…bed?"

The Gerudo then reached through the bars of the gate and pulled Harkinian in for a passionate kiss. It happened so fast that Marina didn't know what was happening until it was too late. When the princess realized what was happening, she suddenly became angry at the Gerudo knights not because they were keeping them locked in a cell, but because they were kissing the priest.

_No! _Marina thought. _I'm becoming jealous!_

After the Gerudo released her fingers from the back of Harkinian's head, the priest staggered back in the cell. His face was red with shock. He reached over and grabbed his polished wood priest's staff, which had previously been resting against a wall. His face didn't change from its shocked expression.

Harkinian slowly began to smile as the effect of the kiss began to dawn on him. He brushed some curly hair out of his eyes and said enthusiastically, "ladies, count me in!"

Marina was stunned. He was a _priest!_ The Gerudo knights laughed and smiled as one produced a rusty key out of her pocket. She began to work with the lock on the gate as the other began to reapply makeup. Harkinian began to walk to the gate excitedly, as the aspect of the eventful evening made him anxious. Marina put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a look of affection. Harkinian, in his first move of assertion against Princess Marina, looked into her eyes with a huge smile.

"Don't get jealous, Princess. You had your opportunity," he said while brushing a piece of Marina's hair out of her eyes.

The Princess was furious. She was about to slap Harkinian across the face when the young priest gave her a large wink. She felt her hand stop. Something about his flashing eye gave told the princess she had little reason to fear. She would see Harkinian again. Nothing was going to happen with him.

Marina started to cry when as she heard the rusty chain hit the stone floor of the cave. She didn't think she was ever getting out of here! It was just her and the Goron now! She watched Harkinian toy with a Gerudo knight outside the cell; his staff in one hand, the other around the bare back of the enemy. The other knight quickly reapplied the chain and lock. Marina could here sounds of Harkinian kissing the knight.

"For a second there…" Marina quietly said to herself as tears streamed down her face, "for a second there I thought you were the one, Harkinian."

The next sound that entered her ears surprised Marina. It was the sound of Harkinian swinging his priest's staff. He did it so fast that the knights weren't able to react in time.

"_Din's Fire!" _Harkinian shouted very loudly. The next thing that happened made Marina's mouth drop. The red jewel in Harkinian's staff glowed, and then a humongous fireball erupted out of the staff, quickly expanding and filling the whole room. The old Goron prisoner awoke. Both the knights were knocked to the ground by the force of the flame. As their heads hit the rock, they were knocked unconscious. Marina felt the fire breeze past her face, but she wasn't knocked over. It was as if Harkinian aimed at the two women.

Harkinian wasted no time retrieving the cell key from the unconscious Gerudo.

"I can't believe I kissed that sinful woman," Harkinian said as he ran back to the cell with key in hand. "I'll have to repent for that." The priest proceded to fidget with the key in the cell.

Marina and the old Goron both ran up to the gate. "Wait…what?"

Harkinian sighed. "I'm sorry if it seemed I had betrayed you back there, Princess. I think this was the sign the Goddesses sent me. They delivered us from the cell."

Marina was still confused. Harkinian sensed this and continued. He looked into her eyes and said, "It was all an act, Marina. Those Gerudo women didn't seduce me. I acted to get out of the cell to cast my spell."

When the princess finally figured out what had happened, she couldn't help but smile. This young, simple, wimpy priest was slowly but surely surprising the hard, stubborn princess.

The chain fell to the rock ground of the cave once again, and the three former prisoners finally left their cell and began the treacherous journey home. The old Goron bent down and picked up each sleeping Gerudo by the hair and ensured many more hours of sleep followed by searing pain as he slammed his rock-solid fist into their skulls.

"Just to be sure," he said. "Now, I must find Darunia! Thank y'all for your help! Good luck in your relationship!"

The old Goron curled into a ball and began rolling down a dark corridor.

In all the chaos of the last few minutes, Princess Marina forgot about the spell that Harkinian cast. She looked into his eyes in awe.

"What was that…fire thing?" She asked.

"The spell?" Harkinian said. "Oh, it's a simple spell I've known for a while now."

The Princess rolled her eyes. "Are you telling me you could have done that the whole time?"

Harkinian nodded. "Of course. It's very simple magic, really."

Marina once again found a reason to be annoyed with the priest. "Why didn't you just do that while the Gerudo were leading us to our cell!"

Harkinian paused and scratched his head in confusion. "I…don't know…that probably would have worked a lot better…"

"Yeah, probably," Marina said as she rolled her eyes again.

The Princess's bow and quiver were hanging from a wall nearby, so she wasted no time retrieving them. She also grabbed two Goron torches from the wall to help the twosome through the dim corridors. She gave one to Harkinian.

"Let's go. Please don't hesitate to use that fire spell if we meet any more Gerudo," she instructed while she began to lead the way down a corridor.

"Princess, do you know where we're going?" Harkinian asked with his usual tone of scared concern.

"No," Marina replied honestly. She didn't care where she was going, she just wanted to go.

Harkinian sighed. He was growing weary of the Princess's courage. "I suppose the Goddesses will guide us," he said, reluctant to the fact that Marina didn't want to talk about the Goddesses.

"Whatever," Marina said.

The torches proved their worth. The tunnels were very dark, and the duo didn't pass too many more torches or jail cells. Occasionally they would approach a few Gorons who were also successful in escaping, and each time that Harkinian tried to ask for directions to the surface of Death Mountain, they would ignore him and continue on their ways. Eventually the priest learned not to ask for directions.

Marina and Harkinian soon approached a corner that led to darkness. Marina ordered Harkinian to be quiet as she lit an arrow on fire and quickly fired it down the dark corridor. The light from the flaming arrow revealed that there were no Gerudos down the tunnel and it was safe to continue.

As the twosome walked down the tunnel, Harkinian suddenly stopped Marina by putting his staff on her shoulder. "Princess, wait!" he shouted to her.

Marina reluctantly stopped to see what Harkinian wanted; she really wanted to continue their escape. "What is it?" she said with annoyance in her voice.

Harkinian moved his torch towards the angle of the corridor where the stone floor met the stone wall. Two small but colorful flowers grew out of a crack in the stone. They were pink and blue, and really stood out among the red stone. They were small, however, and Marina was surprised that Harkinian could notice them in the dim corridor. The priest smiled when he found them. "I guess even flowers want to grow deep inside this mountain," he replied.

"They're beautiful compared to the dirt and rocks," Marina said without really thinking.

Harkinian looked at the beautiful princess. "They're Zelda flowers," the priest said. "Do you know what's special about Zelda flowers?"

Marina smiled when she learned the identity of the blossom. "Zelda flowers are the Hylian engagement flower," Marina said. "When a husband and wife are to be married, the weave the stems of two Zelda flowers together, symbolizing their commitments to each other." Marina could vividly remember, as a child, hearing the story of her parents' experience with the Zelda flowers at Lake Hylia.

Harkinian smiled. "Do you know how Zelda flowers spread their seeds?" he asked.

Marina continued to look at the flowers and shook her head. "No."

"When a singe Zelda flower dies, it releases only two seeds, which then continue to grow and blossom. Those two flowers soon become four, then eight, then sixteen and so on. As long as one Zelda flower exists, there will always be more."

Marina smiled. "That's really special," she said.

Harkinian looked into the eyes of the beautiful princess. It was then he realized that he loved her. They didn't have much in common, but he didn't care. He loved her. He loved her egotistical countenance. He loved the way her blond hair fell in front of her face. He loved the way she picked at her fingernails when she was nervous. He loved her more than he loved anyone else.

The priest got an idea. He bent over and slowly picked both flowers. He then wove one on his belt that tied his colorful priest robes together, and he stuck the other in Marina's lapels.

The Princess smiled. "I…I love…" the priest started to say, but nervousness stopped him.

Marina laughed. "I love you too," she replied. The twosome closed their eyes. Their faces leaned in to each other. They felt their noses bump. Their lips then made contact…

"Don't move, Hylians," a female Gerudo voice suddenly said from behind the couple. Harkinian and Marina were startled and suddenly looked at the direction of the voice.

A lone Gerudo knight, dressed in full armor and pointing a curved blade at the couple was standing behind, smiling. Her red hair fell down her back, longer than many Gerudos, and her sharp eyes seemed to penetrate the darkness of the tunnel. Marina was surprised at the Gerudo; not because she startled them, not because she was dressed more modestly than the others, but because she seemed so young. She didn't look a day older than sixteen.

"I've been looking for you, Princess Marina Nohansen," the Gerudo said as she walked closer with her blade drawn. There was no time to attack. There was no time for Marina to pull out an arrow, or for Harkinan to cast Din's Fire. The Gerudo had them beat. It was back to the cell for them.

Just before the Gerudo was about to attack the couple, she fell to her knees. Her blade clattered against the stone floor. "Princess, forgive me for coming on so strongly. I am your humble servant," she replied without looking up.

Marina didn't know how to reply. This Gerudo had just said she was Marina's servant. "What?" Marina said, clearly confused.

The Gerudo looked up. The light from Marina's torch gave the Gerudo's face an eerie look. "My name is Nabooru," the young Gerudo said. "I'm not like my sisters at all. I am the leader of a small but effective group of Gerudo knights that opposes the war and Ganondorf's rule. If you'll follow me, Darunia wants to talk to you."

Marina looked at Harkinian. The priest smiled. She gave him a look that said, _should we trust her?_ Harkinan looked puzzled for a second, and then nodded.

"Alright," Marina agreed, "but leave the sword."

"Okay," Nabooru said. She got to her feet and pointed down a corridor. "This way. Please hurry. If I'm discovered helping you, I could be killed for treason."

As the threesome walked by the light of the two torches, Marina wondered how a girl as young as Nabooru was able to be courageous enough to lead a resistance movement with her very life on the line.

It wasn't too long before they reached a large cell with only one Goron as prisoner. The Goron, who Marina correctly figured to be Darunia, smiled as he saw the threesome approach.

"Nabooru! You found 'em!" Darunia happily replied from behind the bars of his cell. He was easily the largest Goron Marina had ever seen, with rolling muscles flowing down his arms. Patches of hair crazily erupted from his rock-solid scalp.

"Darunia, meet Princess Marina Nohansen and Harkinian de Rauru. They came from Kakariko Stronghold this morning to rescue you," Nabooru quickly and quietly introduced.

"Quickly! Let him out!" Marina insisted to Nabooru. "We need to take you two to Archduke Raphael! You can explain the situation to him."

Darunia shook his head. "Not yet. You two go. Bring more men. The Sheikah, the Gorons, and the rebel Gerudo are more then enough to drive the other Gerudo from this mountain," Darunia said.

Harkinian wasn't sure. "Are you sure that's such a good idea?" he asked.

Darunian nodded. Nabooru can show you the exit to the surface. Return as soon as possible with troops. If I escape now, all my people will be killed at the hands of the Gerudo."

The Goron leader started to cry as he continued his speech. "These are sad times, but I do feel the tides are turning. We can win this war. Return with more men."

Nabooru smiled. "Stay strong, Darunia." She motioned to Marina and Harkinian. "Are you two ready?"

Marina nodded. "Sure, let's go."

Harkinian nodded also, but said, "Darunia, do you know why the Gerudo are up here?"

Darunia's head sunk, and he replied, "No, but I did overhear some Gerudo talking about three stones, but that's all I know."

Harkinian nodded, in deep thought. _Stones? _he thought to himself, _I wonder if the Gerudo are after the Spiritual Stones…_

Harkinian stopped daydreaming to notice that Marina and Nabooru were already making their way towards the exit of the caves. "Wait!" the priest shouted. "Wait for me!"

Marina thought about what lay ahead. "It will only get rougher," she said to Nabooru, "but Darunia is right. The tides are turning."

Harkinian caught up to the girls, and together they continued to make their way through the dim corridors of Death Mountian. They were concerned about the fate of the Gorons, of course, and they were concerned about what was in store for them, but most of all, the three young, righteous ambassadors were concerned with whether the tides really were turning.

> > > > > > > > >

Alrighty then! Thanks for reading! BE SURE TO REVIEW! What did you like? What didn't you like? Who's your favorite character?I wanna know! Also, please try to spread the word to other Zelda fans on this website. It would be awesome to have a whole punch of different opinions about this story! Thanks!


	7. Betrayel Part 1

Hey, I know it's been a while. I'm not dead, I promise. My life has been pretty busy for the last six months. I hope you haven't forgotten the story! Anyways, I had to split this chapter into two parts so it's not so big. I hope you like it, please read and review!

Okay, where were we? King Nohansen has invaded Gerudo Desert to learn Ganondorf's plans, while Princess Marina and Harkinian escaped the Gerudo control in Goron City. Here is the latest chapter: Betrayel. Enjoy! Please review!

Betrayal (Pt. 1)

The powerful Gerudo sun set in the west, giving the bare dunes of sand an eerie orange glow. The light wind caused the sparse green trees to sway and shake. Small, harmless tornadoes blew the sand across the landscape. Brown leather tents made up the homes of the Gerudo women. Small villages of these tents began to come to life as the women lit their oil lamps as the sun descended and the bright desert stars emerged from the sky. Small Gerudo girls were still playing barefoot in the sand, causing their mothers to call them into the tent for the night.

"Saisha, time for bed."

"Mama, I'm hungry," the young tan Gerudo girl whined.

"I know, child, I know," the mother replied wearily. "Soon the war will be over and we'll have all the food we need."

"Can I have some bread?" the child pleaded. The mother sighed and ran her fingers through her red hair. Their supply was running low.

"Yes, a little," the mother said, defeated. The little girl smiled and ran in the tent. Her mother followed.

Saisha grabbed a small loaf from a box in the corner. Her mother broke it in half and gave one half to her daughter while eating the other herself. The crunchy, spicy Gerudo bread tasted wonderful in their mouths. As the small family ate, the mother peered into the bread box. Their supply was running dangerously low. They couldn't hold on like this.

Saisha sucked up every crumb of the bread. After she ate, the girl obediently climbed into her hammock that hung in the back of the tent. The Gerudo mother watched her beloved daughter lie for a few minutes, until the sound of her snores were heard.

The mother stepped outside of the tent. The dessert crickets were chirping in the warm night. The famous Gerudo night sky shone brightly. The stars were out and the full moon gave the dunes a blue-white glow. The mother slowly walked the short distance to the deep canyon that served as the natural border between Gerudo Valley and Hyrule Field. The young mother sighed when she reached the edge. She sat down at the trunk of a tall, skinny tree that grew nearby and thought to herself as she ran sand through her fingers.

_How much longer is this going to last? _The famine had been going on for months. Saisha went to sleep every night hungry. The mother was struggling just to keep her small family fed.

The desert heat had been fierce this season, crippling all crops the Gerudo grew. Ganondorf was planning on asking the Hylians and Sheikah for food, but then Ageroth the Poe Lord told him of another strategy. Ganondorf allied with the Poes and the Hylian War began.

The young mother could hear the sounds of Zora's River at the bottom of the deep canyon. The river was on its way to Lake Hylia, where it would empty, giving the lake fresh water. The cycle continued, and it would likely continue like this forever.

The mother enjoyed breathing the night air, but she had to return to her tent and daughter. She stood up, brushed the sand from her loose pants, and started back to the tent.

That's when something caught her eye. The bridge that crossed the canyon and separated Gerudo Valley and Hyrule Field was full of crossers, lanterns lit and armor clinking. They desperately tried to be silent, but it was futile. The young mother gasped and hid behind the tree, thankful that she didn't have a torch that would have attracted attention. From behind the tree she squinted to make out the group. She made out all men. Normally, this would have been an interesting situation; the woman didn't normally see many men, however, this situation called for much more immediate attention. Several hundred Hylian soldiers were entering Gerudo Valley.

The mother quickly turned and ran home. She wasn't being followed, but she didn't know if it was because the soldiers didn't care or they didn't see her. When she reached the small tent, she thrust the flap out of the way and ran inside without stopping. Thankfully, young Saisha was fast asleep. If she wasn't she would have asked questions. The young mother stopped to catch her breath. Did they see her? What did they want by entering the valley?

The mother approached her slumbering daughter. She gently ran her fingers through her child's red hair and smiled. Tears came to the mother's eyes. This child was her life, her entire existence. She didn't care one ounce for herself. She lived for her daughter. The drought and famine brought the ax of death hanging over her child's neck. There was nothing the mother could do. There simply wasn't enough food for the entire Gerudo population.

"_Xaxh zhahx zaxphz cxaze Din Farore Nayru,"_ The mother muttered silently in the ancient Gerudo dialect. The language was reserved specifically for blood-pacts and prayers. "Din, Farore, Nayru…please…spare my child…" she had said. The mother stepped away from her sleeping child and approached the lit torch. She gently blew the small flame out, and walked, using only the moon as illumination, through the darkness to her own bed. She lay down to sleep. The sound of the Gerudo winds blowing her tent flap filled the still night.

"_Ganondorf Zyxzy Karzxu," _she muttered as her eyes closed and sleep overcame her. "Godspeed, Ganondorf," she had said.

Captain Isaac was tempted to scratch his right arm as the Hylian troops entered Gerudo Valley, but the broken bone was still recovering, and, no matter how much his arm itched, it wasn't worth the risk that a sharp jolt of pain would shoot up to his shoulder. The limb was resting in a makeshift sling that had been fastened by King Nohansen's old friend, Kaepora Gaebora. The pain wasn't the worst part in the broken arm; Isaac was no longer able to fully wield a sword. He was right-handed, and it felt awkward to use the blade with his left hand. He was completely vulnerable, a strange feeling for the captain.

His pride had also suffered an extreme blow. Prior to the broken limb, the Captain thought he was invincible. He had graduated top of his class at the Kakariko Academy, and he was the strongest person he knew with the sword. It hurt to admit he had been defeated in combat. That Gerudo whore had gotten the better of his feelings! She had seduced him! Not a moment had passed from that moment that Isaac didn't feel feelings of vengeance. He wanted nothing more then to find that Gerudo woman and break _her_ arm. That would feel very nice.

The Hylian and Zora troops were marching to Gerudo Fortress to try to learn the secrets of the Gerudo's battle strategy. Although he wouldn't admit it to his troops or people, King Daphnes Nohansen had absolutely no idea of what the Gerudo and Poes were hoping to achieve through civil war. What King Nohansen really wanted was to meet with Ganondorf again in person, so he could get a straight answer, but he knew it was useless. The stubborn Gerudo man refused to give in and admit. Although he hated the idea, King Nohansen admitted that espionage would be the best resolution. They had to spy on the Gerudo.

The mission was not all that was on the King's mind, of course. His wife was set to give birth any day. He was still stuck in the struggle: if he abandoned his troops to be with his wife, he would have betrayed his country. If he remained with his troops, he would have failed as a husband and father. He tried to think of what his father, King Harkinius would do. Harkinius was often heralded as the greatest king in Hylian history. It was a tough act to follow.

The more he thought about it, the more Daphnes knew what his father would tell him. King Harkinius had objected Daphnes and Kaileia's marriage. He would have told Daphnes to stay with the troops. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew his father would be right. His place was here, leading the troops into the scorching desert.

The sun had set completely, and night had befallen the desert. The cold winds blew sand everywhere, decreasing the already-low morale among the troops. After marching all day, King Nohansen wanted nothing more than to lie down to go to sleep. The troops found a sandy clearing far away from any Gerudo settlements. Exhausted, Daphnes told Isaac to tell the troops to set up camp. This would be their home for the night. Isaac saluted as best as he could with his broken arm and went to spread the word to the troops.

As the troops, relieved to finally be stopping to rest, set up their tents, Kaepora Gaebora approached Daphnes.

"The Fortress is about a mile northwest," the King explained before the mage could say anything. "Tomorrow night we'll send a spy unit to the fortress to gather information," when the mage didn't respond immediately, Daphnes said, "I feel the men deserve a day to rest."

"A donkey is one of the most useful creatures on the planet," Kaepora Gaebora said, quoting one of his several proverbs, "but if it is overworked, it will do nothing but kick you in the butt. It is a good idea to give them a day of rest."

Daphnes and Kaepora laughed at the humorous proverb. Daphnes appreciated that. It felt good to laugh. He didn't get to do much laughing lately. His thought quickly changed, however, when he thought of another startling thought.

"Marina," he said out loud. "These past few days have been so eventful that I have completely forgotten about Marina."

"What's 'Marina'?" Kaepora asked, confused.

"It's my daughter's name, my oldest daughter," Daphnes explained. He laughed a fake laugh and tears came to his eyes. "I don't even know if she's alive."

"She's gone to Kakariko, right?" Kaepora said, trying to remember what Daphnes had told him.

"Yeah," Daphnes said amidst tears.

Kaepora paused for a second and then started to laugh. "What are you worried about? If she's in Kakariko, she's fine. What could happen to her?" The mage continued laughing. "If you've forgotten that Kakariko Stronghold is the strongest fortress in a thousand miles, then, boy, you are exhausted! You need rest! Maybe I should take over as king until you get your tired head on straight!"

Daphnes started laughing again. It did sound absurd. Marina was probably living it up in the stronghold. Kaepora was probably right, although King Daphnes couldn't shake the disturbing image of his recent nightmares.

Kaepora watched the tired troops hurriedly assemble their shelters. He noticed the light from the various lanterns made mysterious shadows on the sand dunes and thick bushes. That's when a sudden thought hit his old brain. Something wasn't right here…

"Hmm…" he thought. He walked over to a bush and bent down to feel its green leaves.

Daphnes noticed him and asked, "What is it?"

"This type of bush," he said without looking up at Daphnes, "requires copious amounts of water to grow. I don't see any rivers, lakes, or streams;" he looked up at Daphnes, "do you?"

The King shrugged. "Maybe a Gerudo carries water out here everyday."

Kaepora stood up, brushed the sand from his fingers, and shook his head. "No," he said thoughtfully, "it just wouldn't be practical to grow these bushes out here. We're practically in the middle of the desert. And look how they're grown. They're in no order at all. They're completely unorganized. They're natural bushes," he concluded.

"But that would mean…" Daphnes started.

"There is natural water out here," Kaepora concluded.

"But this place is bone dry, there's nothing," he said.

The old mage grinned and put his finger in the air. He had figured it out. "There's nothing _now. _There was once a vast river here. The solution is simple: the Gerudo are having a drought."

Daphnes thought about that. "Do you think that this has anything to do with the Gerudo attacking us?" he asked.

Kaepora shrugged, "Maybe, maybe not. Only time will tell." He put his hand on Daphnes's shoulder. "Now if you'll excuse me, boy, I need to set up my tent. It's getting late."

Captain Isaac cursed again as he dropped a pole into the warm sand. Setting up a tent was a lot harder with only one usable arm. He bent over to pick up the pole, but accidentally bumped his broken arm against his armor, which he had taken off and placed on the sand.

"Argh!" he said, and bit his lip to fight the pain. He recovered the dropped pole and proceeded to build his tent. He carefully eased the pole up to the tent to put it in place, but when he inched closer, he accidentally knocked over another key pole with his broken arm. The familiar shot of pain rushed through his sore arm. On top of that, the pole fell over and the whole tent collapsed.

"Arrrgggh!" He shouted as kicked his armor out frustration. He would never get it built.

"Captain, can I help you?" came a timid female voice from behind. The Captain quickly turned to see Laruto, the Zora queen, standing behind him. She was dressed in a type of Zora nightshirt, and wore what seemed like slippers made out of woven kelp.

Laruto had been nothing but kind to Isaac, but the Hylian captain still didn't completely trust her. She seemed too young to lead the Zoras, and Isaac was certain that the first mistake made in the desert would be hers.

The captain regained his composure and shook off the pain. "Yes, yes of course. Thank you," Isaac said to the young Zora. Laruto proceeded to place the various poles together as Isaac handed her the pieces of rope to tie them together.

"I'll bet you're excited to get home and see your family," Laruto said excitedly.

Of course he was. Silly girl. Isaac faked a laugh. "Yes, I've been gone far too long,"

"I bet they won't recognize you with the broken arm and the scars on your face," Laruto said while tying to poles together.

What was she getting at? Isaac realized Laruto had a problem of speaking out before she spoke. He decided to change the subject. "It's King Nohansen who should be excited to get home, with the baby and all," Isaac said.

Laruto looked back at Isaac from pitching the tent. "Baby? What baby?" She asked.

Isaac was surprised she didn't know. "Queen Kaileia is expected to have a baby any day now," he explained.

"Ooooh, exciting!" Laruto exclaimed with a huge smile. "I bet King Daphnes is wishing he was with his wife right now, instead of being in the desert fighting a war."

Once again Isaac rolled his eyes at the obvious statement. "I wouldn't mention that to him, he's pretty upset about the whole thing." Isaac paused to pull the tent flap over the poles. There was silence for a moment. Isaac was thankful the young Zora wasn't speaking for a change. They worked on the tent, and when it was finally finished, Isaac ran his good hand through his growing hair and smiled. "It looks great, thanks Laruto," He said with a smile.

The famous Gerudo stars compelled Isaac not to retire for bed immediately, but to take a small stroll through the cool desert. He grabbed his sheathed sword out of habit, and said goodnight to King Nohansen, Laruto, and the mage Kaepora Gaebora, as well as the remaining troops, and turned away from the dark campsite. He wasn't intending to go very far; the troops wanted to remain as hidden as possible so the Gerudo didn't know they were so close to the fortress. With only the moon as his source of light, Isaac approached a large palm tree. He sat at its base and breathed the cool, desert air. As Isaac watched the bright stars above, he forgot all about his troubles. The mysterious, almost hypnotic light seemed to place a spell on the troubled captain. He leaned his back against the tree's trunk, careful not to bump his broken arm against the hard bark. The captain felt his eyes close as he rested. The cool desert breeze tickled his face and blew his hair. And then…

Isaac stood up. He had heard a noise. He made a mental note that he had his sword on his belt, and began to cautiously look around. He had to make sure no Gerudo knew he was there. He began to circle the tree, listening carefully for any sound. After a few seconds, he heard the same sound again. It sounded like leaves rustling. The captain began to breathe heavily. He was in no condition to fight. He was unarmored and his dominant arm was broken. He began to look left and right. His heart was pounding in his chest. He heard a thump…someone was definitely nearby. Isaac awkwardly placed his left hand on the hilt of his sword. Then he heard a female voice behind him.

"It's you."

Isaac spun around to see a Gerudo knight standing right behind him. She had her trademark curved sword held out in a prepared stance. A grin marked her tan face. She was dressed in a nightgown type outfit, with slippers. Isaac felt it was the end of him. He had a broken arm and she was ready to shove her sword in Isaac's chest. Isaac looked into the eyes of his attacker as drops of sweat fell off his face.

Suddenly, Isaac grinned.

"You," he said in return. He knew this Gerudo knight. It was the same woman who had clawed him in the face. It was the same woman who had seduced and kissed him before punching him in the face. It was the same woman who pushed him down a cliff costing him his arm. Isaac pulled the sword out of the sheath and held it with his left hand. He was ill-prepared to fight this woman, but he was sure going to try.

"You're right handed. You will never be able to defeat me like that," the Gerudo said.

Isaac stepped closer. "I'm going to try."

The Gerudo smiled. "I'm surprised you survived your fall down the mountain into the river. It will make killing you even sweeter tonight."

Isaac ignored her and swung his sword with his left hand. The Gerudo easily blocked the blow with her own sword. The vibration of the hit traveled through Isaac's body, into his broken arm. He ignored the familiar shot of pain and focused on his opponent. The two faced each other with only the light of the moon to guide them. The stars watched down from the heavens.

The Gerudo took advantage of her mobility. She parried and jumped, two things Isaac couldn't do with his arm. He had difficulty blocking her swift attacks. After a few minutes, Isaac attacked with a horizontal swing that the Gerudo blocked. Their swords remained in contact. Isaac looked into the Gerudo's eyes. She grinned and stepped back, releasing the swords from one another. Then, with one fluid motion, the Gerudo knight leapt in the air and, like she was dancing, kicked Isaac in the face. The blow caught the captain off guard. He dropped his sword and fell in the sand. He felt a stream of blood run down from his chin. The Gerudo wasted no time kicking Isaac's sword further away and pressing her own sword against his chest. Her grin penetrated the fallen captain. He lay in the sand with a broken arm, defeated by the very enemy he vowed to kill. He was breathing very heavily. He gave up. There was nothing to do. There was no one to save him. There was no secret "plan B" to rely on. It was over. The Gerudo laughed, and the stars watched down from the heavens.

Isaac closed his eyes to prepare for the stab to the chest. It was over. He would never see the end of the war. He would never see his family again. It was the end. An eternity passed. Isaac continually had to tell himself he was still alive. The fatal blow hadn't come yet.

Finally, Isaac heard the Gerudo woman sigh. "I can't kill you," she said, and he heard her toss her sword away. Isaac cautiously opened his eyes. The Gerudo's cocky smile was gone, as was her sword. "Get your sword and get out of here," she said without looking at him. Isaac stood up and retrieved his weapon. The Gerudo was looking in the opposite direction. Isaac got an idea; he cautiously picked up her sword as well. This was his chance. He had her unarmed. He could very easily kill her now. Vengeance was his! He crept closer and closer to the knight. Then…all of a sudden, she turned around and looked him in the eye. The moonlight did something with her face…she looked almost beautiful. He dropped the swords.

"What…why?" he stammered out at the knight.

She looked away again. He wished she didn't. He wanted to look in her eyes again.

"Your broken arm took all of the fun out of killing you," she replied. She looked back again. "I'm sorry."

It was a blow to the face even more powerful than her kick. The enemy was apologizing! What was happening?

Isaac didn't know what to say. He truly wanted to take the sword and cut her head off, but he couldn't. He instead heard himself say the two words that he truly couldn't say to this person. "It's okay."

Isaac began to walk away towards the Hylian camp. "Wait!" the Gerudo shouted after him. The captain stopped and turned to face her again. "You could have killed me up on that cliff above the river, but you didn't." she said.

Isaac grinned and began to walk back towards the Gerudo. "You could have killed me right now, but you didn't."

The Gerudo smiled. "You probably won't believe me, but pushing you off that cliff was one of the most difficult things I've ever done."

"Believing you pushed me off a cliff was one of the most difficult things I've ever done," Isaac replied. No matter how much he tried, he could not resist the beautiful Gerudo. He leaned in closer to her, and she leaned closer to him. Their lips made contact, and Isaac put his good arm around the woman's back. They began to kiss again. Nothing else seemed important to Isaac. He didn't care that he was kissing the enemy. He didn't care that he was married. All that mattered to him was this woman. He knew he loved her. He wanted to find a way for them to be together. They continued to kiss. It started as a dry kiss, but quickly became an open-mouth. Isaac promised to find away for this relationship to work. He would do it, even if it was the last thing he did. They continued to kiss beneath the tall palm tree. And the stars watched down from the heavens.

Kaepora Gaebora, the old mage, watched Captain Isaac kiss the Gerudo knight. He had heard the swordfight from the camp and went to see if any one needed help. Despair filled his soul as he watched the captain kiss the Gerudo. "Oh boy, no, don't do this," Kaepora said to himself. He turned away after he couldn't watch anymore. He began to walk to the camp. "What will I tell Daphnes?" he asked himself. He walked back to the camp in the dark.


	8. Betrayal Pt 2

Betrayal

Betrayal

(Continued)

The large Gerudo sun began to rise in the distant east as the Hylian troops begin to stir from their beds. Tent doors began to open as the troops no longer were able to sleep and were anticipating the action of the day. As they began to prepare their morning meal, they chatted amongst themselves and talked of the plans that were in motion for the day.

"Surely King Nohansen isn't planning on attacking Gerudo Fortress? It's impenetrable!"

"Captain Isaac won't allow an attack like that!"

"Not to mention Master Gaebora!"

Laruto, an extremely young and inexperienced Zora leader, also rose from her tent to prepare for the action of the day. Although she felt out of place, being one of the youngest, a female, and a Zora, she was willing to do anything to end the conflict.

As the troops prepared their meal, Captain Laurence Isaac, top of his class at the Kakariko Academy, vomited into a nearby bush, his head pounding and his joints aching. He had not slept well the previous evening, as he had gotten to bed late. His broken arm also contributed to his illness, as it had not allowed him to get adequate sleep. He retched a few more times, feeling the tears come to his eyes. He grabbed his steel sword off the sandy earth with his left and held it to his face, looking at his own reflection in the cold steel.

He almost didn't recognize the man staring back at him. He had transformed into an entirely different person the past few days. Gone was the confident, powerful soldier, with a wife and two young sons back home. He was replaced by a weak, ineffective ruler who had lost all control of his life. His facial hair had begun to grow wildly and uncontrolled; his three scars on his face, while now painless, had begun to scab and they were caked with sand, dirt, and sweat, much like the rest of his face. His brown hair, usually short and crisp on top of his professional head, was standing in all places. His posture had suffered, too; usually, Isaac stood and moved with a completely straight spine. It helped with his swordplay and agility. Ever since his arm had broken, his posture had begun to deteriorate, and he was slouched over, as if he were carrying a heavy package on his back.

The sunlight reflected on his sword, showing Isaac a mirror image of what he was feeling. His eyes…his deep brown eyes…usually showering the world around him in light and confidence, were now dark and cold.

_Her…_he thought to himself as he looked at his reflection, drowning out the sounds of the waking soldiers around him. _This is all her fault…_

He was thinking of a particular Gerudo soldier who had caused him more anguish than any other person he had ever met. It was this soldier alone who slashed his face, who had broken his arm, and who had completely eliminated all of his self-confidence. He vowed to himself that he would rip her apart limb-from-limb if he were to ever meet her again.

And yet…

Isaac had found himself unable to kill the woman twice when he had confronted her. Once was even during the previous evening. She had found him as he strolled at night and fought him. He lost the duel due to his broken arm, but she spared his life. Then…they had kissed…

Isaac threw up again at the thought. His eyes began to tear as he retched. His life had become a complete and utter mess.

Daphnes Nohansen emerged from his tent to greet the new day. The sun assaulted his sensitive eyes and he had to shield his face from the morning light. As he joined the troops for breakfast he was greeted with the usual "g'morning, my liege"'s that accompanied every morning. He returned the salutations with a smile, but that was the limits of his happiness. He found a small brown stone nearby and sat down. His face fell to his hands, and he took a deep breath. _Another day…_he thought, as the prospect of a direct assault on the Gerudo begin to sink into his mind.

"Daphnes…"

The voice came from only a few feet away. Daphnes needed not look up, for he recognized the voice instantly. It was the only voice that he was happy to hear. The Hylian king answered back, "Sit down, Kaepora."

The old mage slowly walked to the brown stone and, with some difficulty, sat down next to Daphnes. As he struggled to let his weight down on the stone, Daphnes could tell the events of the past few days were beginning to break Kaepora. The mage was simply too old to be traveling all over the country fighting the Gerudo. Although he was Daphnes' closest ally, the King felt he had to be realistic.

"Look, Kaepora, you don't sound good.

Not surprisingly, Kaepora let out a deep, hearty, laugh.

"I haven't felt good since I was your age."

"Well, maybe you should return to the castle, help Kaileia with the baby…"

Kaepora laughed again. "If you're trying to get me to flee combat, you're going to have to try harder. You'll have more luck getting the stubborn Zora girl to leave."

Daphnes chuckled to himself. It felt good to laugh. It seemed like he was a teenager again, he and Kaepora together, teaching each other.

Kaepora stopped laughing and looked at Daphnes like a caring friend. "Did you not sleep last night?"

Daphnes paused for a minute before answering. The sand of the desert seemed to glow a bright gold from the light of the rising sun. "No."

"Was it the nightmares again?"

Daphnes nodded. "Yeah, yeah it was."

Daphnes was referring to the recurring nightmare he had been receiving ever since he and his daughter, Marina, had parted. His vision showed Marina running down a corridor in Kakariko Stronghold. Eventually she was confronted by a dark figure, which cut her down with his sword. Although Captain Isaac dismissed this dream as simply stress catching up to him, King Nohansen, as well as Kaepora, thought he might actually be dreaming of something that was to happen in the future.

Kaepora produced a small glass vial out of his bag at his side. It was round, with a small cork keeping a small amount of deep, red liquid inside. He held it out to Daphnes.

"Drink this, it will help."

Daphnes didn't question his old mentor. He uncorked the bottle, and in one gulp, swallowed the red liquid.

He nearly choked on it. He was expecting a watery-like substance, like fruit juice, but the liquid was much thicker, like honey. It tasted a bit like candle wax.

"What was that?" Daphnes returned the small vial to Kaepora, who deposited it in his bag.

"A red potion, made from the jelly of a ChuChu. Your strength should return to full in a few minutes."

Daphnes already felt the potion begin to work. He stood off the rock and held out his hand for Kaepora.

"Thank you, Kaepora." Kaepora took his hand and Daphnes pulled him off the rock.

"Ah, it was nothing really; it's extremely common these days…"

"Not just the potion," Daphnes said, returning Kaepora's walking stick to him, "but for everything. You've made this whole conflict much easier for me."

Kaepora smiled. "Let's go get something to eat, shall we? I'm very hungry, and it's going to be a long day. We'll need our strength."

Daphnes and Kaepora made their way back to the Hylian camp. No sooner did they arrive to find their troops finishing their morning meal, did they notice three horses making their way across the sandy horizon towards them.

The rider in front waved a flag of the Hylian national crest—a falcon with its wings spread with the three triangles of the triforce in front—to signal that it was a friendly rider and that the troops shouldn't attack.

"They're late…" Daphnes heard Captain Isaac mutter a few feet away.

"Who's late? Who is that?" Daphnes asked him.

"Early this morning, I sent McClure and two other spies to go discover the makeup of the fortress's security," Isaac explained. "I asked them to be back before the sun rose."

Daphnes nodded. However injured Isaac had become, he never seized to surprise the King on how adept of a soldier he really was.

"Yeah, good job, Isaac," King Nohansen congratulated. The three horseback riders continued to make their journey back to camp over the next few minutes. As they returned, Daphnes continued to feel his strength returning through the magic of Kaepora's potion. He felt confident in whatever plan he was to execute.

The three riders slowed to a stop as they approached the camp. The lead rider jumped off his horse and removed his helmet, revealing a long mane of red hair and a tan face. Jarvo McClure was one of the troop's finest soldiers. He was tall, confident, strong, and charismatic. He had a bright smile that could inspire troops in the direst of situations. He was an excellent soldier, with a startling physique that gave rise to a rumor that his mother was a Hylian but his father was a Goron.

"Ahh, King Nohansen, I see you are up!" McClure said while flashing his famous smile. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, I did, McClure," Daphnes lied, returning the smile. "Did everything go alright this morning?"

"Couldn't have been better! We got the entire perimeter of the fortress mapped out, and the girls have no idea we're even in the valley!"

Good news was so refreshing to Daphnes that he thought he was going to burst into tears of joy. "How many guards do they have on the outside?" he asked.

"Over a hundred," McClure answered, pulling a map of the pack of his horse.

Suddenly, all of Daphnes' hopes seemed to vanish.

"Over a _hundred?!"_ he cried. "Are you sure, Jarvo?!"

"Yeah," McClure answered, sensing his news wasn't so good after all. He opened the piece of paper to reveal a complex drawing of Gerudo Fortress. There were small red X's drawn in pieces of the fortress as well, as well as small green O's. McClure brushed a strand of red hair out of his face and began to explain the map to Daphnes, Kaepora, and Isaac.

"This is the best Torin was able to do in such short notice and with minimal light. The mainframe of the fortress is drawn in black. The red crosses are where there are a large number of Gerudo knights stationed. We didn't bother to mark where there are only one or two, because we figured they weren't such a huge threat. The biggest threat will be if we are detected, and a single knight alerts hundreds of others to our presence.

"The green circles, on the other hand, are entrances to the inside of the fortress. Now, if you will see here," he pointed to a green circle that was only guarded by one red X, "this entrance isn't as guarded as the others. Now, we believe that to be because this is an unimportant tunnel that won't lead directly to the inside sanctum, where anything important is hidden. However, we believe that this tunnel leads to other tunnels that lead to the core of the fortress."

McClure ended his explanation and waited for Daphnes' reaction. The king didn't know what to do. He began to pace back and forth, thinking hard. "Over a hundred…" he muttered under his breath. "A direct assault on the fortress will be suicide…it's their territory and they are much more used to fighting in the desert. We'd be wiped out before you could say 'Farore'."

Kaepora stepped in. "Daphnes, need I remind you why security is so tight at the fortress?"

No one spoke while they waited for the mage's response. After what seemed like an eternity, he responded.

"It's because he's here. Ganondorf. He's in that fortress as we speak."

McClure smiled again. "Now's our chance, my king! If we siege the fortress now, we could end this war!"

Daphnes thought longer. The sounds of the troops in the distance, preparing for combat was drowned out by his thoughts. He thought long about his chances on a siege of the fortress. He thought about his promise to his wife. He thought about his recent nightmares and his daughter's safety. Then he came to a conclusion.

"I've made my decision," Daphnes said before taking a deep breath. "I feel we should…abort this mission. We should return to Kakariko for the time being."

Instantly, Isaac and McClure started shouting protests. Daphnes didn't want to hear it. He started to walk away towards his tent. Kaepora, silently respecting Daphnes' decision, followed. The mage didn't say anything; instead he retreated to his own tent.

Daphnes was about to enter his tent when he heard a call from behind him.

"King Nohansen!"

It was Isaac, looking sicker than ever. He was furious as he approached Daphnes.

"What is it, Isaac?" Daphnes asked, although he already knew the answer.

"I feel it's only fair that you explain your decision to me!" Isaac spat, with anger on his tongue.

"If we siege the Gerudo now, we're only going to cause mass casualties and Ganondorf will slip away anyways. We should retreat and wait for a more convenient opportunity," Daphnes explained.

"This is our opportunity!" Isaac shouted. "We have stronger troops than they do, we have them by surprise, and we have their leader cornered! McClure is right, my king, this is our chance to end this war!"

"Returning to Kakariko to see if Marina or Raphael have anything to report is what we need to do. Tell the troops to prepare to leave. We can be there by midnight tonight."

Isaac didn't speak for a long time. Finally, he looked up at the king.

"No," he said.

"That's an order!" Daphnes shouted, no longer able to contain his anger.

Isaac shook his head, a look of rage morphing on his face. "It's happening. It's finally happening. The troops were wondering when it would happen."

"What are you talking about, Isaac?" Daphnes said, growing more impatient.

"You're starting to do it…you're starting to put your family before this war."

"What?!" Daphnes cried.

"You don't care about Raphael or whatnot. You just want to be with your daughter!"

"That's enough, Laurence!"

"You're going to betray this country. You're going to give up on the war. Face it, Daphnes, you're weak!"

"_I said that's enough!!" _Daphnes shouted at the top of his lungs, and, before he could stop himself, he felt his fist lurch forward on its own free will. It connected with the front of Isaac's nose. Daphnes heard a sickening crunch. Isaac fell on the sand. He gave a low moan and was still. A small stream of blood began to flow out of his nose. Daphnes couldn't speak. The whole world seemed to spin around him, covering him in nausea and disgust. _I've just attacked my own captain…_Daphnes looked down at Isaac, who was moaning face down, a small pool of his own blood collecting around his face.

Daphnes felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and looked into the eyes of his old teacher.

"Kaepora! I just…I mean, I…" Daphnes tried to put into words what he was thinking.

"Daphnes," Kaepora said very calmly, "I don't congratulate you on what you did, but I don't condemn you for it either."

Daphnes was relieved. He could always count on Kaepora's support.

"You're both under extreme pressure and you both are letting your emotions cloud your judgement."

Daphnes was confused. He looked into the old sage's eyes. "What emotions are clouding Isaac's judgement?"

Kaepora took a deep breath and avoided eye contact with Daphnes, as if what he were about to say troubled him. "Last night, as I lay in bed, I felt…compelled to leave my tent and go for a walk. As I strolled along the canyon, I heard the sound of clashing steel from a short distance off. Keeping myself hidden, I approached the dueling swordsmen. Imagine my surprise when I found Isaac fighting left-handed with a Gerudo knight."

"What?" Daphnes said, also surprised to hear that news. "In his condition?! What was he thinking?"

"I was ready to intervene if I needed to, but I was surprised to see how effectively he fought with his weak arm."

Daphnes stood up and walked to the flap of his tent. He looked down at the stirring form of Isaac lying in the sand. "How did he possibly escape unharmed?!"

Kaepora paused as he thought whether to reveal what he knew. He motioned to Isaac. "Let's take him inside, and then I'll tell you."

Daphnes and Kaepora gingerly took hold of Isaac under the arms and carried him into Daphnes's tent. After they had laid the unconscious captain on Daphnes's hammock bed, they exited the tent and once again greeted the rising sun.

"Well, what happened?" Daphnes asked impatiently after they were sure they were alone.

"Isaac was defeated, of course. The Gerudo woman kicked him in the face, knocking him off guard, and he fell into the sand. She was about to pierce her sword through his chest when she stopped, and let him return to camp."

Daphnes smiled. "That's a relief, he's a very important member of our team…" The king turned to approach the other troops, until he felt Kaepora's hand once again on his shoulder.

"That's not all, boy."

Kaepora said these words with fear and sadness in his voice. Daphnes turned and faced the mage.

"They spoke for a bit—I was too far away to hear their words—and then Isaac, he…he began…kissing the knight."

Daphnes was sure he had misheard. "What?"

"Captain Isaac began to kiss the knight he had only moments ago fought."

"No, no! That can't be true! He's married! He's _married_, Kaepora! If he were kissing the knight that would be both treason and…"

"…infidelity." Kaepora concluded.

Daphnes looked his master in the eyes. "Kaepora, can you think of any reason…_any reason whatsoever_…that would make Isaac do something like this?"

Kaepora shook his head. "A troubled mind does unspeakable thinks when under stress."

Daphnes took a deep breath. "What am I going to tell the troops? What am I going to tell his wife?"

Kaepora motioned to the troops. "You're going to have to worry about that later. For now, we've got to focus on our conflict in this valley. Have you come to a conclusion on whether you want to attack the fortress or not?"

Daphnes was positive he would be unable to concentrate on anything now that he knew his captain was an adulterous traitor. He rubbed his hands over his face to try to keep himself awake and looked at his anxious troops.

"Yeah, I gave Isaac the command to retreat to Kakariko. Not surprisingly, he didn't take it very well."

"Before you solidify that command, let me show you something that might change your mind," Kaepora said.

The old mage opened his ever-present bag and withdrew two small items from within. At first glance, they looked like old wooden soup bowls, but when Kaepora flipped them over; Daphnes realized they were actually children's masks. They were round, concave, and intricately painted and carved with what looked like the greatest of care. Daphnes delicately took the small masks and looked them over. The first showed the face of a male Goron, with wild eyes and sharp teeth. Its rock solid features looked extremely realistic, as if it were the actual face of a Goron that was ripped off of its skull. Daphnes turned to the other mask. It was lighter and more colorful. Staring back at him in incredible detail was the face of a female Gerudo knight. Her purple eyes and red hair so finely painted that Daphnes swore each strand of hair was painted a different color. Her skin looked so soft that Daphnes had to do a touch test to confirm it was actually made of wood.

"These are very nice, Kaepora," Daphnes said while staring the savage Goron in the eyes.

"I bought them from a mask dealer ages ago," Kaepora said, proud of his belongings.

"I don't see how this will help us with the Geru—"

"Try one on," Kaepora interrupted.

Not expecting much, Daphnes raised the Goron mask up to his face. He pressed the smooth wood against his features and he watched his world go black. After what seemed like a split second of waiting, the mask started to melt into his face. He felt what seemed like hundreds of insects crawling all over his body. He could no longer breathe. He tried to scream, but no sounds came out. After what seemed like an eternity, his eyes opened again and he was able to see. He tried to raise an arm, but it seemed like large weights were holding his wrists down. He looked to Kaepora, who was smiling and trying to hold back a laugh.

"You look good, my boy," Kaepora said.

"What was that, Ka—" He was halfway through the word "Kaepora" when he noticed how deep his voice had become. It had transformed into a deep, monotone, grunt.

"We need to find you a mirror," Kaepora said, now no longer able to keep his laughing contained. He began to run up towards the troops. Daphnes tried to follow, but he found it incredibly difficult to walk, as if he had suddenly gained three hundred pounds.

That's when he figured it out. He was no longer holding the Goron mask.

He raised his arms as best as he could and felt his face. Gone was the smooth, human skin. It was replaced by rough, rocky, hide. He felt his long hair. It was no longer thin and stringy, but rough and coarse, like horse hair. He looked at his hands. His forearms and biceps had tripled in size, and had turned a deep tan color.

King Nohansen had transformed into a Goron.

He examined his huge hands and muscles. A smile grew on his face, as he realized what Kaepora was planning with this stunt. _It could work…_he thought to himself.

Only, he didn't know how to change back. A wave of panic and claustrophobia overcame him at the thought of remaining like this.

He began to feel around his face and neck for a break in his skin where he could pull the "mask" off. He was unused to using his large Goron fingers and it took him a few moments to find a small slit on his jaw. He inserted a finger in the slit and gently began to pull on the skin. He could feel his Goron form disappearing as he continued to pull the mask off. It felt the opposite of how it did when he first put on the mask; this time, it seemed the insects were climbing up his back. After a second of this strange feeling, Daphnes found himself again standing in the desert sand holding the Goron mask. He checked his hands and arms. He had indeed returned to his true Hylian self.

Clutching the two masks, he sprinted up the sandy slope towards the camp. The troops were now cleaning up the remains of breakfast; some were already in the process of applying their armor.

"King Nohansen!" a soldier called over to him. "King Nohansen, where is Captain Isaac? He asked me to prepare the troops to attack the fortress, and now I'm awaiting his next order. Have you seen him?"

Daphnes was frustrated that Isaac had gone over his head in ordering the attack, but he hid his feelings and responded to the soldier. "He is resting in my tent, and I'm sure he'll seek you out after he awakens," then, Daphnes felt he needed to add, "don't disturb him."

The soldier seemed satisfied with the half-lie, and Daphnes continued onward, towards the center of the camp, where Kaepora was standing looking over the map of the fortress. The mage smiled when he saw Daphnes.

"I see you managed to figure out how to remove the mask," he said.

"Just like a mask…is that your plan on attacking the fortress? Transforming us into Gorons?"

Kaepora laughed. "I only have one Goron mask, boy. The important one is the Gerudo mask. Perhaps we could use it to disguise one of our own soldiers as a Gerudo."

Daphnes felt he was catching on the plan. "Then that soldier can literally…walk into the fortress undetected!"

Kaepora nodded. "That's right."

Daphnes still had one question, "But…there's only one Gerudo man—Ganondorf—the Gerudo women will never let a male into their fortress, even if he is a Gerudo."

"That's true. That's why we need a female to put on the Gerudo mask and raid the fortress for information."

Daphnes could tell what he was getting at. "No, Kaepora. She's too young and inexperienced."

"She's the only one who can do this, so if you don't want to go through with it, we'll have to abort."

Daphnes took another deep breath. He had another difficult choice to make. More than ever he wished Marina were here. She wouldn't hesitate for a moment to put on the Gerudo mask to infiltrate enemy lines. But to put a young girl in charge of such an important mission…Perhaps she would be up to it? Why not? She had come this far from home fighting for her people. Daphnes realized there was really no other way. But he had one condition.

"I'm going in with her," the Hylian king said to Kaepora.

"What? How?"

"I'll act like her prisoner. She can tell the other Gerudo that they were bringing me in because they wanted to…torture me for information."

"Daphnes, no, the Gerudo will get suspicious. Think about it: a young Gerudo soldier shows up by herself with the King of the Hylians?"

"I'll wear the Goron mask. They won't recognize me," Daphnes concluded. "I'm just not letting her go in there by herself."

Kaepora thought long about the proposition.

"I don't like that, boy. You need to realize that Isaac is right; you are letting your emotions get in the way of your leadership."

"I don't care!" Daphnes shot back, tired of hearing about how ineffective he was being.

"Very well, Daphnes. You know I'm behind you one hundred percent."

Daphnes smiled and looked into the eyes of his old master. "Kaepora, I don't know how I could have possibly gotten this far without you."

Daphnes noticed Jarvo McClure standing a good distance away talking to another soldier. Daphnes called out to him.

"Oy! McClure!"

When Daphnes was sure he had gotten the soldier's attention, he called out, "Tell the Zora girl I need to see her about a special mission!"

"So you want me to put on this mask and sneak into the fortress like I'm a Gerudo?" Laruto asked twenty minutes later after Daphnes and Kaepora had described the mission. They were standing in Laruto's tent, away from the rest of the soldiers. Daphnes and Laruto were each holding a different mask; Daphnes had the Goron one, while Laruto grasped the Gerudo.

"You saw how realistic the transformation was. I'm sure the Gerudo have no idea this kind of magic exists. We can literally walk right in."

Laruto bit her lip in thought. She had transformed under the Gerudo mask as Daphnes and Kaepora demonstrated its power, and was still scared about how it had changed her. Daphnes couldn't deny that it was very convincing, and that he felt a rush of adrenaline when he saw the Zora in the shape of the enemy. Laruto's head fin became a long cascading wave of red hair, her dark, oval eyes became deep purple, and her silver, shimmering fish-like scales became the dark, tan skin of the Gerudo. Jarvo McClure had stolen a Gerudo outfit when he had scouted the fortress, so she changed in the privacy of her tent. She felt uncomfortable in the revealing outfit, as she wasn't used to such immodesty, but other than that, she felt excited to finally help the Hylians directly.

"Are you ready, Laruto?" Daphnes asked as they prepared to enter the fortress. He gripped the Goron mask nervously.

"Yes, I am," Laruto answered. She was wearing the mask. Her voice had the sharp tone of the Gerudo soldiers; gone was the wet warble of the Zoras.

"I'll put on the mask when we approach the fortress. Remember, if you get nervous or scared, just let me know. We'll work something out. The purpose of this mission is not to start a fight. We just want to get a hint at what the Gerudo have planned for the future."

"I understand, King Nohansen."

"Just making sure. This is the most extreme thing you've ever done. You literally need to become a Gerudo in order for this to work."

"I'm ready."

The two spies began to leave the camp towards the Gerudo Fortress. Daphnes had abandoned the sword his father had left him, as well as his armor that signified him as the King of the Hylians. Kaepora found small, unarmored clothing for Daphnes to wear in disguise. The mage also provided Daphnes with two small vials of Red Chu potion, just in case. Daphnes and Laruto saddled two horses and began the brief ride to the fortress. Daphnes was surprised how hot the sun really was. Along the way they saw several withered and dried bushes, further cementing in his mind Kaepora's surety that the Gerudo were suffering from a drought. Laruto remained silent the entire journey, probably because she was nervous and scared. The more Daphnes thought about it, the more he hated himself for putting a young girl in such a dire predicament. She was the only girl and therefore the only one to wear the Gerudo mask, but Daphnes seemed to have forgotten that not all girls were as strong and aggressive as Marina. As the two horses slowly trotted along the sand, Daphnes said a silent prayer to Din, Farore, and Nayru to protect them on this mission.

Before long, the two of them reached a large cliff with a magnificent view of the Gerudo Fortress. Daphnes sighed and hopped off his horse.

"We'll tie them here," he said, leading his horse to a large, dried tree a few yards away. Laruto silently followed. Daphnes sensed she was feeling upset. "Hey," he said to cheer her up, "We'll be fine. Don't worry about it."

Laruto smiled a bit and said, "Okay."

Daphnes turned to a rucksack on his horse and pulled out two objects: the first was the Goron mask, the other was a set of strong, iron handcuffs. Daphnes closed his eyes and prepared for the strange sensation of transformation, then pushed the Goron mask to his face. The now-familiar sensation of a second layer of skin came over him once more, followed by the claustrophobia, then suddenly he opened his eyes to see he was standing a few inches taller. The sun didn't feel as hot, and his arms were suddenly a lot heavier. He handed the Gerudo-Laruto the handcuffs.

"You'll need to cuff me," Daphnes said in his deep Goron voice. "It will make this more convincing."

Laruto nodded and took the cuffs. Daphnes held out his large Goron hands, and Laruto snapped the iron cuffs around them.

"You okay?" she asked with a hint of uncertainty in her Gerudo voice.

"Yeah," Daphnes grunted back.

Laruto clipped a chain around the cuffs to lead Daphnes into the fortress. She began to slowly walk towards the towering black stone castle. Eventually, the chain ran out of slack and Daphnes was forced to begin walking with his large Goron legs. He still was not used to walking with such girth; the downward slope along with the loose sand caused him to struggle. He tried not to look at Laruto. If all didn't go as planned in this risky experiment, and she was hurt, he would never be able to forgive himself.

Eventually, the slope evened out and he was once again walking on flat sand. They were level with the fortress. It's huge black stone frame seemed larger than ever, a huge intimidating rock jetting out of the ocean of sand.

"Sister! What is your business here?" One of the Gerudo knights shouted from the fortress, still a distance away.

Laruto continued to drag Daphnes by the chain, slowly towards the Fortress. A sickening thought then hit the King: Laruto was raised as a Zora. She knew basically nothing about the culture of the Gerudo. If someone asked her a question about desert life and she were unable to answer, their cover would be blown and the mission would end very badly.

"Prisoner," Laruto shouted back as confidently as she could.

"A Goron?!" the knight returned, evidently surprised that a mountain dweller would be found out in the desert.

Laruto continued towards the fortress and the knight. "A spy from the mountains," Laruto responded convincingly.

"Must have escaped from the Sisters stationed there," the knight responded back. Daphnes felt a surge of nervousness in his stomach. There were Gerudo knights stationed in the Eastern Mountains? Perhaps even in Goron City? Less than a day's journey from Kakariko! He had to dismiss these worries for the time being. Perhaps Marina had already dealt with them.

Laruto finally approached the knight with whom she was conversing. Daphnes acted as best as he could like a broken-spirited prisoner of war: he kept in head low and did not make eye contact with either Laruto or the guard.

"He's a big one. You're lucky. Perhaps you can turn him over to Brother yourself. He's here today meeting with Ageroth."

Kaepora Gaebora was right. Ganondorf was there, inside, waiting for Daphnes to confront him.

"Alright, let me see your ticket then you can feel free to collect the bounty on this boulder," the knight said, bored. Once again, a feeling of panic came across Daphnes. They had no ticket. How could he have been so stupid? Of course the Gerudo were going to ask for identification before they could get in. He felt Laruto stiffen up next to him, she was obviously searching for an idea of what to do.

"I…I was attacked…lost my ticket…" she lied while pretending to search her armor for the ticket that wasn't there. She placed her hands in each pocket. Daphnes was nervous; the mission could end before they even entered the fortress. Lartuo's worried face seemed desperate for an idea, when suddenly; with a look of surprise she pulled a small piece of fabric out of a pocket on the side of the armor. Before Laruto could say anything, the guard snatched it out of her hands and began to glance over it.

"Looks like you didn't lose it after all. Lucky break." The guard made a small mark with a graphite stone and pulled a lever that raised the iron gates into the fortress.

"Alright, you know where to go. Be careful with that guy. Looks dangerous. Have a nice day," the guard stole another quick look at the ticket, "Ganeesha." The guard returned the ticket to Laruto, who smiled, bowed, took a hold of Daphnes's chain, and entered the fortress.

The small, dark stone walls added to Daphnes's already-nauseating claustrophobia. The fortress seemed huge; every few steps another tunnel extended past their line of vision. Daphnes was beginning to feel the weight of the mission weighing on him.

When he was certain no Gerudo were within earshot, he whispered, "That was close, back at the gate."

Laruto continued walking and didn't turn back as she said, "The ticket must have belonged to the previous owner of this suit. A woman named Ganeesha."

"Well, we're in. The hardest part's over. Let's just find Ganondorf and get out of here. No more close calls," Daphnes said.

"Agreed."

Before too long, the light of the sun pouring through the gate behind them vanished and they were forced to navigate the small tunnels by light of candles and lanterns that littered the walls every few feet along the fortress. They passed by several tunnels that intersected the tunnel they were walking along. Daphnes noted dozens upon dozens of lanterns along each tunnel. He wasn't sure how deep the tunnel they were traveling went. They could be wandering for hours without coming close to Ganondorf. Daphnes needed to find him as soon as possible, before suspicions arose of a single Gerudo with a Goron. Daphnes sighed and came to a conclusion.

"Laruto, we can't be wandering around like this forever. We need to trick one of the Gerudo to lead us to Ganondorf."

After a short nervous pause in conversation, Laruto stopped walking, and she turned to Daphnes.

"I can't."

Daphnes was surprised. "Why not?" he asked. She made it this far. She tricked the guard in the entrance. Why couldn't she keep it up?

"I don't know if I'll be able to keep this up. I don't want us to get caught."

"You'll be okay, Laruto. Just remember your name is Ganeesha and you need to call all the soldiers 'Sister' and Ganondorf 'Brother'. If I think it's not working, I'll figure something out and interfere. This needs to be done. Do you understand?"

He looked into her worried eyes. The pause that succeeded was nerve-wracking. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity. Laruto lowered her head and nodded. She turned to continue down the path when Daphnes called out, "Thank you, Laruto."

Without another word, Laruto continued down the tunnel. She kept walking slowly, as if afraid of what was going to approach her. Daphnes was confident in her ability to keep the act up.

They had been lucky not to encounter any Gerudo since the gate; most had been outside to prevent anyone from entering. But now, Daphnes wished a knight would run into them. Someone who could take them to Ganondorf. But as they continued walking, Daphnes became frustrated at the lack of Gerudo. He kept walking, his wrists becoming sore under the iron cuffs. Every know and then Laruto turned a corner and walked down a different corridor, or she would chose to climb up a set of stairs, furthering their search for another Gerudo.

Finally, after Daphnes was certain he couldn't have found an exit in years, they encountered a Gerudo patrolling a surprisingly well-lit hallway.

"Sister," Laruto called nervously.

The guard, surprised, turned and aimed her spear at Laruto. When she caught sight of Laruto's Gerudo figure, she returned the spear on her shoulder.

"_Xyzashza_, Sister, you startled me," the guard said as she approached Laruto. "I see you have someone who needs to be locked up. Sorry, I don't have any keys. You're going to have to find Sahasra. She does."

"No," Laruto said nervously. "I'm supposed to hand him to Brother personally."

The guard raised her eyebrows; this request was obviously very rare. "Very well, I will escort you. It will be faster that way."

Daphnes knew full well it wouldn't have been any faster. The guard obviously wanted a share of the reward Laruto would receive on turning him in. However, despite the motive, Daphnes was just happy to have someone taking him to Ganondorf.

"So where did you get this boulder?" The guard asked, as she led Laruto and Daphnes through the maze of corridors.

"South Hyrule Field," Laruto improvised convincingly.

"Geez, did you get him all the way here by yourself?" the guard asked. And before Laruto could answer she continued, "He was probably on his way to the lake to send a message to the slugs that live there."

"Oh…okay," Laruto answered. Daphnes could tell she was confused. He was glad; it was knowledge to him that the term "slug" was a racial slur against the Zoras.

"Must have escaped the troops in Death Mountain. I was telling the Sisters in charge of that suicide mission it never would work. The Gorons are too used to the environment. It's like trying to trap a slug in Lake Hylia. They can just swim up the waterfall."

Daphnes grew more uncomfortable at the sound of the word. Laruto merely nodded and kept on her way.

"So this big guy must have come from the mountain, eh? Did you buddy? Did you come from Goron City?"

It was a second before Daphnes realized the Gerudo was talking to him. He looked in her eyes, but chose to be silent. He didn't want to say anything that gave her away.

The guard continued to mock him. "Did you come from Goron City? It's not good, is it? We've got your people all locked up and the Sheikah have no idea! The only reason you escaped is the poor planning on our part. But don't celebrate too soon. You're gunna wish you never saw sunlight. Did the Hylian Princess send her regards? It must be tough for you to know we have your leader trapped as well as the princess!"

The Gerudo began to laugh. Daphnes had been tuning her out until he heard her mention the princess. Marina.

"What?" Daphnes had the courage to say.

The Gerudo looked at him with a huge smile.

"What? You mean you didn't know? The Hylian princess came up the mountain, but, oh no! She was captured!" The Gerudo continued to mock.

Daphnes stopped walking. So there it was. The news he so craved about Marina. She had been captured by the Gerudo. What was she thinking climbing Death Mountain while she had the protection of Kakariko? Did she know about the Gerudo occupation before she climbed up? Was she trying to be a hero? All of this news crashed around Daphnes like waves against a cliff. He just couldn't believe it.

"Hey! Keep walking!" The guard shouted. She took her spear, pulled back and smacked it across Daphnes's face. The pain he expected from such a blow did not come, probably as a result of his Goron form and its thick skin. Laruto, unsure of what to do, merely stood there, watching nervously. Daphnes stood his ground and refused to walk. He had only one thing on his mind. Marina.

"I said KEEP WALKING!" The guard shouted, hitting Daphnes again with the spear. Daphnes, still unused to the added weight of the Goron, fell to the stone ground. His face was sore, but he managed to pull himself up. It was for naught, as the guard merely beat him over the face again, knocking him to the ground. "You're as stupid as those slugs in Zora's Domain!" the guard shouted. "Filthy, inhuman, monster! We've invaded your home, imprisoned your leader, and we did the same thing to the slugs this morning! THIS IS OUR WORLD!" She continued to beat him with the stick. Daphnes caught a look at Laruto, who was forming a look of deep loathing as she gripped the chain. Daphnes smiled. It seemed she had figured out what "slugs" meant.

Another blow pushed Daphnes to the floor. He was expecting another, but it didn't come. Instead, as he lay, he heard sounds of gasping breath. He struggled to look up, and what he saw shocked him. Laruto, in tears, had wrapped the chain used to lead Daphnes around the guard's neck. The guard's eyes were wide as she struggled to breathe. Just as quickly as it started it ended—the guard fell to the floor, dead. Laruto was breathing heavily. Without a word she pulled out the handcuff keys and unlatched the cuffs. Daphnes looked in her eyes, and they made an unspoken agreement: the cover was blown. The only priority now was escaping alive. Daphnes massaged his wrists, and, after a moment of thought, reached his fingers to his jaw and removed the magical mask. He was never happier to be himself than at that moment. He ran his fingers through his long, salt-and-pepper hair and looked at Laruto, who still wore the Gerudo mask.

"If I'm going uncuffed, I'm not wearing the mask. If I'm blowing our cover, I'm blowing all of it."

"I…I…I don't know what came over me…I'm so sorry…" Laruto cried, as tears filled her purple Gerudo eyes.

Daphnes was angry she had killed the guard and blown the cover, but he realized he didn't have time to blame. They needed to turn around and get out. Daphnes looked down at the motionless Gerudo knight. "We need to do something with her," he said.

"What?" Laruto asked, still crying.

"First of all, I'll take this," Daphnes responded, taking the guard's spear and spinning it around in his hand to test the weight. He knew he wouldn't be very effective with it, but he figured it was better than nothing. "And I'll take these," he said, grabbing a ring of iron keys that had been tied to the guard's belt. "Just in case."

Daphnes began searching for the corridor for something—anything—with which he could use to hide the dead knight. He picked up the dead girl and walked down the corridor a bit to an intersection. He thought for a minute and turned to Laruto.

"You stay here. Don't let anyone come down this corridor right here. I'll be back in a few minutes, I'm just going to figure out what to do with her."

Laruto was still emotionally distraught, but managed to nod her head.

"Great. I'll be just a few minutes." With the dead Gerudo knight over his shoulder, Daphnes turned out of Laruto's view and began walking down a corridor. He completely forgot to think about what would happen if _he _were discovered; King of the Hylians, unarmored, carrying a dead Gerudo knight on Gerudo grounds. He had too much on his mind to think about himself. He was worried about Laruto. He promised himself he wouldn't leave her sight during this mission, but things had changed. They were desperate now. She as performing marvelously at this mission. He just hoped she could keep it up.

He worried about Marina. According to the Gerudo Daphnes now carried, she was captured in the occupied Goron City. Daphnes ran every possible scenario through his head as to why Marina would be in the city. He was confused. Apparently the Gerudo occupied Zora's Domain now as well. The war was turning very sour very quickly.

After walking down the corridor for a few hundred feet, Daphnes discovered some large wooden crates resting against the wall. He paused, looked at the crates, and set the Gerudo knight down. He tested the crate and pulled on the wood; to his surprise it was open and had hinges. Glancing inside he noticed the contents were minimal: just a few arrows. Daphnes smiled, set down his spear, and grabbed the dead knight one more time. Carefully, as to not make a sound and alert anyone, he placed the knight's corpse inside the box. He carefully arranged her arms and legs so she would fit, and gingerly closed the box after she was completely inside. Daphnes grabbed the spear and began walking back towards where Laruto was waiting. He was anxious to get back to her. He didn't want her alone all by herself.

He was about to turn to greet her when he heard voices coming from around the corner. He stopped and remained in the corridor, hidden from view. He listened carefully to the conversation.

"Sister! Have you seen Natashea?" he heard an unrecognizable voice ask.

He then heard Laruto respond, "Um…no, sorry."

"Strange. She's supposed to be patrolling this hallway. I've got an order from the gate that she needs to report to the prison area. It seems some Sister called Ganeesha brought in a large Goron and they want extra security down there."

Daphnes felt as if his heart stopped. If this knight asked Laruto her name, she would wonder where the Goron—Daphnes—was, and if that happened, they would be in trouble.

Laruto responded, "I haven't seen her."

There was a pause and the knight asked, "Who are _you_, anyway?"

Daphnes thought about putting on the Goron mask again and confronting those two as an escaped prisoner to possibly keep Laruto's cover, but that thought vanished when he realized he no longer had the Goron mask. _I must have left in the corridor when I took it off…_he realized.

Laruto replied to the knight's question, "I was ordered to come patrol this area in Natashea's place. Perhaps she's already left for the prison area?"

Daphnes was impressed by her ability to lie on the spot. He was able to give the knight a convincing answer without revealing she was the Ganeesha who had brought in the Goron.

The knight responded, "Really? Ugh, no one tells me anything. Okay, thanks. You'd better get your gear and get back to work."

Daphnes breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed they had dodged another bullet. As long as Laruto was able to keep her cover they had a chance of escaping safely.

Then, as soon as Daphnes felt they were safe for the time being, he heard the knight ask, "Oh, hey sorry, I have to check your ticket. I know, it's pointless, but it's the stupid security regulations."

Daphnes suddenly felt as if the ground fell out from under him. If she checked Laruto's ticket she would realize _she _was the one who had brought in the "Goron" and her cover would be blown.

"Um…are you sure it's necessary?" Laruto asked.

"I'm positive it's _not _necessary, but it's the rules. Brother's here, remember. Here's my ticket. I'm valid, lemme see yours."

Daphnes couldn't breathe. He waited what seemed like an eternity for the Gerudo to check Laruto's ticket.

"Whoa, _you're _Ganeesha?! No wonder I didn't recognize you! You've been stationed in the mountains! Wow, was it hard to get a boulder all the way here?"

Laruto tried to stay ahead of the conversation, but it was obvious she was struggling to continue to lie her way ahead. "Um, no, he was chained and he realized it was futile."

The knight continued to question Laruto. "I bet you'll be able to eat for weeks with the bounty on that guy, huh?"

"I…haven't collected the bounty yet…" Laruto improvised.

"What?! You haven't collected the bounty yet? Are you crazy! Let's go to Brother right now and collect it!"

Daphnes knew that once again the Gerudo knight wanted nothing more than to get a share of the money, but he also realized that perhaps this was a good thing—this greedy knight would lead Laruto right to Ganondorf. Daphnes licked his lips out of nervousness. Would he really be willing to put Laruto through more of this? He realized that they didn't have a choice. By following their deception and staying with this Gerudo they would be able to fulfill the mission they had come to do.

"Oh…okay…yeah…let me get my gear first…wait right there…" Daphnes heard Laruto say, and he began to hear footsteps approaching him. He remained as much in the shadows as possible, and after a few seconds he saw the Gerudo Laruto turn the corner, looking for him.

"I'm right here," he said quietly. Laruto quickly looked over to him.

"Oh! Good. Did you hide the body?" She asked.

"In that box right over there," Daphnes responded. "They'll find her eventually, but at least this buys us some time. Hey, you're doing great, Ganeesha. That knight has no idea."

"Oh, you heard us? Are you sure? Oh, King Nohansen, what should I do?!" Laruto asked, as her eyes began tearing up again. "I can't keep this up! This is too scary!"

Daphnes grabbed Laruto by the shoulders and forced her to look in his eyes. "Listen Laruto, you're doing great. I want you to go with that girl. She's going to take you to Ganondorf."

At this Laruto began crying harder. "And then what?! What will I say to him?!"

Daphnes covered her mouth. "Be careful!" he whispered harshly. "She will hear you! Now, don't worry about what you're going to say to Ganondorf. I have a feeling that knight will do most of the talking. If it looks like trouble's going to happen, I'll interfere."

"What are you going to do?!"

"I'm still trying to figure that out. Just know that I promise you. I _promise _you, that nothing is going to happen to you, do you understand me?"

Laruto looked into Daphnes's eyes and thought for a long time. Then she lowered her gaze, and nodded.

"I can't thank you enough," Daphnes said as he lowered his hand from her mouth. "You won't be able to see me, but I'll be following you all along. Don't worry, things will work out."

"Oh…okay," Laruto responded.

Daphnes held out his spear and the ring of keys. "Here's your gear. Get back to that girl. I'll be right behind you."

Laruto took the equipment and disappeared behind the corner.

"There you are! What took you?" The knight asked when Laruto came into view.

Daphnes kept himself from view and heard Laruto say, "I had to make sure these were actually my spear and keys."

The knight sounded confused as she said, "Um…okay," but seemed to accept the answer nonetheless. Daphnes heard their footsteps begin to diminish, and estimated that they were walking away from him. He stealthily began to move towards them, keeping himself close enough to keep Laruto in eyesight, but far enough away that the knight would not be able to hear him walk. Daphnes felt fortunate that the inside of the fortress was not very crowded; he wouldn't have been able to stay hidden if the corridors were crowded with Gerudo knights. He also felt fortunate that the Gerudo knight whom Laruto was with wasn't very talkative. She was more concerned about the money she thought Laruto was worth than Laruto herself. They walked, navigating the maze-like corridors as the minutes passed on. Eventually, the knight began walking a little more quickly, as if she couldn't wait to talk to Ganondorf. After a surprisingly short amount of time, Laruto and her escort approached a large set of double doors with golden torches burning bright on either side. Daphnes panicked when he saw the doors—they were guarded by two Gerudo knights, the first they had seen since Daphnes began following Larudo. Daphnes heard the two door guards ask Laruto and the knight their business. Praying that he wouldn't be seen, he crept forward, until he noticed a small, wooden door on the wall. He carefully checked the door handle and found it unlocked. He carefully crept into the room and caught his breath.

The first thing that stood out to Daphnes was the small hole in the wall, towards the ceiling. It served as a window, allowing natural light to flow into the room. The second thing that stood out to Daphnes was the contents of the room. He had stumbled into a giant supply room. Bows, spears, arrows and swords lined the walls, and there were shelves upon shelves of Goron-made bombs stacked in the small room. Daphnes no longer doubted the rumor that the Gerudo had invaded Goron city. The shelves of bombs proved it. Daphnes guessed there were enough explosives in the room to destroy half the fortress. He gingerly picked up a small mobile Bombchu bomb. He glanced at its workmanship, than quietly put it in his bag.

He walked over to the window. It wasn't very big, and he wasn't able to see as part of the window was obscured by dark red vines, but it was clear to him that it led outside.

Then Daphnes heard voices…not from the door or from the window…but from…the cold stone wall…

"Brother…(Daphnes couldn't hear what was being said very well)…captured a Goron…reward…"

Daphnes quietly walked to the wall to try to discover the source of the voice. It was certainly too thick to come from the other room. Where did it come from?

Daphnes glanced up and smiled as he found an answer to his question. He noticed a small opening, a small tunnel that provided ventilation to the room. Daphnes dared jump up and grab the tunnel and tried to pull him up. The tunnel was exactly the right size. Daphnes couldn't believe his luck. He began to crawl through the vent. As he did, the voices of the guards grew louder and louder. After a few seconds of crawling, Daphnes found what he invaded the fortress to find.

He was looking down on Ganondorf's planning room. From the vent, he could see the whole room: there was a table, a few maps pinned to the wall, and a few gold torches. Ganondorf himself was standing at the table, and Ageroth was leaning against the wall opposite to where Daphnes lay. The two Gerudo guards at the door were explaining the situation to Ganondorf and Agertoth.

"…She claims she brought a live, male Goron to the fortress, and the guard at the gate can confirm that, but none of the other knights have seen her or the Goron before."

Daphnes saw Ganondorf stroke his goatee. "What's her name?"

The knight that spoke handed Ganondorf a small piece of cloth. "Here's her ticket. Ganeesha."

Ganondorf glanced at the ticket for a moment and said, "Before today, the last time this…'Ganeesha' checked in was over eight months ago."

The knight was confused but said, "It would appear so, Brother."

Ganondorf looked the guard in the eye and said, "About the same time a particular Ganeesha was found guilty of treason and executed. Quite the coincidence, don't you think?"

The knight was still confused. "I'm not sure what you mean, Brother."

Ganondorf grinned and said, "Take "Ganeesha" or whatever her name is in the other room and have her tortured. I want to know who she really is and what her intentions are. If you have problems having her break, come get me. Now, tell me, have you received a confirmation from the prison area that the Goron has been properly detained?"

"Um…no, Brother." The guard admitted, slightly flustered.

Ganondorf seemed to chuckle upon hearing this. "Well, in that case, it seems we have a Goron running loose in the fortress. Have it captured and brought to me. I will deal with it myself. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Brother."  
"Good. You are excused."

Daphnes could hardly believe what he heard. He was so close! He was looking down on Ganondorf's planning room! Now, once again, the whole world was crashing on him. He began to crawl back to the supply room, ready to take as many bombs necessary to stop the Gerudo from torturing Laruto. He began crawling faster, determined to help Laruto before it was too late. He reached the end of the tunnel and jumped into the supply room. Breathing heavily, he took the opportunity to grab a large sword and a bow from off the wall.

"Arrows…" he said to himself as he searched the room. He glanced around the room, finally finding them in a corner hidden from view. He was about to run towards the door when he suddenly heard it burst open.

"Ow! Ow! What's wrong?" He heard Laruto shout as the three Gerudo knights—the two door guards and Laruto's escort—dragged her into the supply room. Daphnes maintained his hiding place and watched the three Gerudo tie up Laruto.

"Brother says you're not being completely honest with us," One of the guards said.

"I…don't know…" Laruto said, tearing up again.

Daphnes watched all of this from behind a shelf of bombs. "Don't you dare hurt her…" he challenged. "Don't you dare…."

"Who are you?!" One of the guards demanded.

Laruto was in full tears. "Ganeesha! I brought in the Goron!"

"Liar!" the guard shouted and backhanded Laruto across the face. She began crying harder. Daphnes began loading his bow.

"WHICH ORGANIZATION DO YOU SUPPORT?!" The knight shouted.

Laruto continued crying. "I don't know!" She shrieked. The knight slapped again.

"WHICH ORGANIZATION DO YOU SUPPORT?!" The knight roared again.

Daphnes decided he had seen enough. He stood up. The three Gerudo looked at him, surprised to see him.

"Mine. She supports mine," Daphnes said. He pulled back on his bow, released the arrow, and shot one of the guards right in the stomach. The other two Gerudo were too shocked to react, giving Daphnes the time to load another arrow, and send it sailing into the second guard. The escort finally got to her senses, drew her spear and charged at Daphnes. Daphnes dropped the bow, swung his sword, cutting her spear in half, and connected the hilt of his sword on the knight's head. She fell to the ground unconscious. Daphnes sprinted to Laruto. He untied her quickly and held her in his arms.

"Are you okay?" He asked, embracing her.

"Ye…yeah. That was scary. Don't leave me again." She cried. Daphnes examined the bruises on her face.

"Ouch. Here, drink this," he said, drawing a vial of Chu jelly from his bag. Laruto obeyed, drinking the waxy liquid. When she finished, she smiled, indicating that she felt better.

"I'm sorry I got caught," she said.

"It's not your fault. Ganondorf was too smart. I saw the whole thing. You see that ventilation shaft on the wall there? I was able to climb up and spy on the whole meeting. It was nothing you did."

"You were spying on Ganondorf?" Laruto asked, incredulous.

"Yeah, and I plan on doing it again. You stay here and I'll…"

One look at Laruto's face told him she wasn't planning on leaving him again.

"Okay, we'll both climb up and eavesdrop again."

Within minutes Daphnes and Laruto were looking down at Ganondorf's planning room. The Gerudo leader was frustrated with something and shouting at Ageroth.

"This is taking too long, Ageroth! Every day more and more of my Sisters starve to death! When are we actually going to get somewhere?!"

"The stones…not in the mountain…nor in the lake…" Ageroth thought out loud. "We need to invade…Kakariko…"

"No." Ganondorf said plainly. "I'm not attacking Kakariko. We'd get slaughtered. My sisters are too malnourished to effectively fight against the Sheikah. We're done fighting. I'm surrendering to the Hylians."

Daphnes raised an eyebrow.

"_Ganondorf!_" Ageroth shouted angrily. "We need…more time!"

"We don't have any more time! _My people are dying!_ Attacking the Hylians was a bad idea in the first place!"

"Don't forget," Ageroth said icily, "The Golden Power…can grant you anything. We must get…the Golden Power…"

Daphnes fought from not making a sound. It all made sense now…the drought, the invasions of Zora's Domain and Goron City…the Gerudo were searching for the power of the Goddesses themselves. They wanted to fix their situation. They wanted life, not death, and they knew the Goddesses could grant it to them.

Daphnes didn't know what to do.

Ganondorf turned away from Ageroth and thought for a long time. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he said, "I don't care anymore. I'm surrendering and throwing myself on King Nohansen and Archduke Raphael's mercy."

Daphnes grew more and more confused every second. He watched as Ganondorf walked towards the door. He glanced over to Ageroth, who was shaking with rage. Finally, he heard the Poe Lord scream with rage and saw him shoot a blast of black energy at Ganondorf. Ganondorf turned just in time and caught the blast with a magical shield.

Ganondorf looked at the Poe Lord. "This alliance is over."

Ageroth stopped shaking from rage, and smiled. He began to laugh. It started of as a chuckle but quickly became a booming, maniacal roar. Ganondorf continued to stare him down. Ageroth fiercely looked at Ganondorf and said, "You still have feelings for her…"

It was Ganondorf's turn to be angry. "You wanna run that by me again?!" He shouted as he drew his sword.

"You heard me…it's been…two years…you still have feelings for her…and those feelings have made you stupid…"

Ganondorf began walking towards Ageroth. "I can assure you, _my lord_, that this has _absolutely nothing _to do with my personal feelings. This is just me looking out for my people."

Daphnes thought Ganondorf was going to say something else, but the door to the office burst open and a Gerudo knight burst in.

"Brother! This is urgent!" She shouted.

Ganondorf seemed annoyed, but listened. "Yes?"

"We just discovered the dead body of a sister in a crate in Western B sector."

"What?" said Ganondorf, more confused than surprised. "Okay, it's probably the Goron. Heighten security."

The Gerudo knight was about to leave when Ageroth called out, "Sister…"

The Gerudo turned to face the Poe Lord, "Yes, Lord Ageroth?"

"Ready the troops…we attack Kakariko…when you are ready…"

"Yes, my lord," The Gerudo said obediently.

Ganondorf was livid. "No! Ignore what he just said! Find the Goron!"

Ageroth smiled. "I forgot to tell you, Sister…Ganondorf won't be joining us…please escort him to the prison area…"

Everyone—Daphnes, Laruto, and Ganondorf—looked at Ageroth. "What are you talking about?!" Ganondorf shouted, losing his sanity more and more after each second. "My Sisters wouldn't think about locking me u—"

Ganondorf didn't get to finish his sentence because the Gerudo guard knocked his sword out of his hand and quickly cuffed his hands together. With a kick to the back, Ganondorf fell to his knees and the Gerudo tied his arms together. Ageroth began to laugh.

"No, Sister, release me!" Ganondorf barked.

"Well, Ganondorf…we see where their true loyalty lies…"

Ganondorf, for once in his life, was at a loss of words. All he could muster was "you turned them against me."

Ageroth grinned again. "Hardly…your foolish choices did…it seems…they would rather…fix their situation…than have the Hylians…fix it for them."

Ganondorf looked at the ground. Hardly moving, Daphnes heard him mutter, "don't do this, Sister…"

Ageroth looked at the guard. "As I was saying…take him to the prison area…then prepare to leave…for Kakariko…"

"Yes, Lord," The guard replied.

"No," Ganondorf said surprisingly calmly. "I won't go." With that, Ganondorf began to glow a deep violet. Then, with one fluid motion, he jumped to his feet and delivered a perfectly aimed roundhouse kick to the guard. As soon as his foot contacted her head, a flash of purple filled the air, distorting the vision of everyone in the room. When the purple light dissipated, the guard was on the ground unconscious and Ganondorf was nowhere to be found.

Ageroth didn't react at all to what had just happened. He waited a second, and then with one fluid motion, threw a flash orb on the floor. Daphnes prepared himself for the flash and blocked his eyes. As soon as the light vanished, all was quiet. The room was empty. Ageroth had disappeared.

Daphnes and Laruto waited a few moments before moving back into the supply room. Neither of them said much. Finally, Laruto broke the ice.

"Wow…" she said.

"Yeah," Daphnes agreed, chuckling. "That was interesting."

"What does it mean?" Laruto asked.

"It means a lot of things. We now know the Gerudo's motive for starting this war. We know what they're after. We know how they're planning on getting it. It means a lot. We now know what we need to do. As soon as we get back to camp we leave for Kakariko."

"But how do we get out of here?" Laruto asked.

"I…have and idea, but I don't know how well it will work." Daphnes admitted.

"Do we have any other options?" Laruto asked rhetorically.

"Okay. Climb back into the ventilation shaft."

The two of them once again pulled themselves up into the small tunnel. They once again braved the small crawlspace while they pushed themselves back a few feet. Once they were no longer in view of the small room, Daphnes awkwardly navigated his back until he found what he was looking for: the small Bombchu. He aimed it down the tunnel towards the supply room and prepared himself to pull the pin, but before he did he turned to Laruto.

"Cover your ears," he instructed. He pulled the pin and sent the bomb down the tunnel.

_Please work,_ Daphnes thought to himself. He heard the bomb move into the room and bump one of the shelves. _Bulls-eye._ Daphnes thought. The bomb exploded.

The chain reaction that followed was one of the most glamorous, amazing scenes of destruction that Daphnes had ever witnessed. Every bomb in the room must have detonated. Over the sound of the detonating bombs Daphnes heard stone crumbling and smiled to himself. After a half minute of explosions, Daphnes opened his eyes. He could see into the supply room, which was now drenched in sunlight. He had been worried that perhaps his explosion would block off the vent, but they luckily had been spared. The entire outside wall of the room had been blown off. They had an escape route.

"Let's go," Daphnes said and began crawling towards the room. "Hurry, it'll be only a few seconds before the Gerudo come to investigate."

"…Good plan," Laruto said, when the shock of what had just happened left her.

Daphnes and Laruto exited the small tunnel and ran outside the fortress in the hot sand. Daphnes could not believe how lucky they had been; they were outside the fortress alive. Daphnes's plan had worked.

Except they were about to come face to face with dozens of Gerudo guards. The guards came from all around, spears drawn, to investigate the explosion. None of them knew what to do with the Hylian king. Most were surprised to see him.

One of the guards came forward, spear drawn, and looked Daphnes in the eye.

"It's King Nohansen. Ageroth will be very happy to see this!" She said.

_No! We were so close! _Daphnes thought as the Gerudo guard came forth to tie him up. Just as she was about to grab him, she was hit by a blast of purple energy. Daphnes looked up to see Ganondorf standing on top of the fortress shooting purple energy balls at his Sisters. The Gerudo knights began throwing their spears at him, but he dodged them all nimbly. Ganondorf quickly made eye contact with Daphnes, and a look of shock crossed his face. Daphnes smiled at him. After a short pause Ganondorf smiled back and continued shooting energy balls at his Sisters.

"Laruto! Let's go! He's got us covered!" Daphnes shouted as he grabbed Laruto and began to dash across the desert sand.

It wasn't long before Daphnes and Laruto reached their two horses. Daphnes looked back towards the fortress. "Thanks, Ganondorf," he said silently, to no one.

"Wow…" Jarvo McClure said when Daphnes and Laruto finished telling their story to him and Kaepora. "The Gerudo…betrayed Ganondorf? Are you sure?!"

"Jarvo, I saw them tie him up and I saw him blast dozens of his own people unconscious. I'm positive about this."

"So what do we do about it?" Laruto asked. Daphnes and the Zora had returned to camp hours ago—night had fallen on the Gerudo Desert—but Laruto still wore the mask that gave her the form of the Gerudo.

"Nothing. Ganondorf's on his own now. It wouldn't benefit us to look for him. Right now we need to focus on getting to Kakariko. I need to speak with Raphael anyways. And we need to get Marina out of Goron City. Kaepora," Daphnes turned to his old master, "I take it you still have your old…talents?"

Kaepora started laughing, "Of course, my boy!"

Daphnes smiled. "Good. Then as soon as we finish here I want you to fly to Kakariko and tell Raphael all we learned today. Can you do that for me?"

Kaepora smiled. "Of course, my boy."

"Good. How's Isaac?" Daphnes asked.

Neither McClure nor Kaepora said anything. They both looked around nervously.

"Well? How is he?" Daphnes repeated.

"Captain Isaac…went absent without leave today." McClure said.

Daphnes couldn't believe what he had heard. "What?"

"Isaac took off, Daphnes." Kaepora repeated. "I went to check up on him today and he was gone. No one knows where he went."

"Is his horse gone as well?" Daphnes asked.

"Yes. And all of his equipment."

"He's probably returned home. We can't worry about that right now. We need to get to Kakariko. McClure, I want you to take Isaac's place as captain. Can you do that for me?"

"Of course, sir." McClure said while saluting.

"Good, thanks. We leave first thing in the morning. Kaepora, you're excused. Fly fast, old friend."

Kaepora smiled once again, and without another word, began to change. His old, wrinkled nose became a sharp beak. His long cloak became large brown wings, and his sandled feet became two sharp talons. Within seconds, Kaepora Gaebora had become a large owl.

"I'll see you children in Kakariko!" Kaepora said in his perfectly normal voice, and then flapped his wings and flew out of sight.

"Well I'll be darned," McClure said after Kaepora had left. "I didn't know Gaebora was an Owl Morph."

The camp was beginning to retire to bed to prepare for the big, following day. Daphnes remained awake, looking into the campfire as he tried to prepare what he would do the following day. Laruto walked up to him, and sat down. Without a word, she removed her Gerudo mask. Daphnes thought it was strange to see the Zora Laruto after a whole day of seeing her as a Gerudo. She flipped the mask around in her scaly hands.

"I forgot to give Kaepora his mask back," she said.

Daphnes laughed. "I left mine in the fortress. I don't know how I'm going to tell him. He'll get angry with me."

"Hey, can I ask you something?" She said, and he could tell she was mustering the courage to ask it.

"Yeah, sure," he replied.

"Do you know what Ageroth meant by 'you still have feelings for her'?" Laruto asked. "I'm just curious."

Daphnes thought a long time and looked in the fire. After a moment, he looked Laruto in the eye. "I have absolutely no idea what he meant by that," Daphnes lied.

"Hmm. Okay. Thanks anyways. I'm going to bed." She handed Daphnes the Gerudo mask and began to walk to her tent.

"Laruto," he called. She turned back to him. "Good job today. You were really brave."

"Thanks, you too." Laruto said.

"Goodnight."

"You too," Laruto said, and disappeared in her tent.


End file.
